UNICA Euromaster in Urban Studies 4Cities
Urban Tourism and Strategic Planning An Integrated Study of Alexandria and Barcelona
Eldaidamony Muhammad
st Submitted in: September 1 2011 2nd Cohort
Under Supervision of Professor: Diego Barrado 2nd Reader Professor: Eric Corijn & Stefan De Corte
Academic year 2009/2011 - September 2011 Table of Contents
List of abbreviations ...... 3 List of figures ...... 3 List of tables ...... 4 Acknowledgement ...... 5 Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 6 1.1 Overview ...... 6 1.2 Abstract ...... 6 1.3 Research Problem ...... 7 1.4 Research aims & objectives ...... 7 1.5 Research questions ...... 7 1.6 Research methodology and structure ...... 7 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...... 9 2.1 Tourism - as an industry ...... 9 2.2 Tourism in other words ...... 11 2.2.1 Tourism as a general term ...... 11 2.2.2 Mass Tourism (MT) & Conventional Mass Tourism ...... 12 2.2.3 Coastal Mass Tourism (CMT) ...... 13 2.2.4 Mediterranean Tourism ...... 13 2.2.5 Tourism Development ...... 13 2.2.6 Tourism Planning ...... 14 2.3 Urban Tourism ...... 15 2.3.1 The emergence of urban tourism ...... 15 2.3.2 Urban tourism in developing countries ...... 16 2.4 Urban Development and Urban Tourism ...... 17 2.5 Strategic Planning and Urban Tourism ...... 18 Chapter 3: Case studies ...... 21 3.1 Overview on Alexandria ...... 21 3.1.1 History ...... 21 3.1.2 Location ...... 21 3.1.3 Tourism, urban development and strategic plans in Alexandria ...... 23 3.1.4 Urban Tourism in Alexandria ...... 31 3.1.5 Conclusion ...... 31 3.2 Overview on Barcelona ...... 32 3.2.1 History ...... 32 3.2.2 Location ...... 32
1 3.2.3 Tourism, urban development and strategic plans in Barcelona ...... 34 3.2.4 Urban Tourism in Barcelona ...... 46 3.2.5 Conclusion ...... 46 Chapter 4: Urban Analysis results ...... 48 4.1 Introduction ...... 48 4.1.1 Location analysis ...... 48 4.1.2 Demographics ...... 48 4.1.3 Climate encompasses ...... 49 4.2 Strategic planning ...... 50 4.3 Urban tourism ...... 51 4.3.1 Hotels and room occupancy ...... 51 4.3.2 Number of Tourists ...... 53 4.3.3 Purpose of visit ...... 54 4.3.4 Origin of tourists ...... 54 4.3.5 Most visited areas ...... 55 4.3.6 SWOT Analysis ...... 56 4.4 Promotion and Marketing ...... 57 4.4.1 Ranking and prizes ...... 57 4.3.2 Economic, social and environmental consequences of tourism ...... 60 4.4 Managing structure and experts interviews ...... 63 4.4.1 Managing structure in Egypt and Spain ...... 63 4.4.2 Results of the Interviews ...... 64 4.5 Conclusion ...... 71 Chapter 5: Secret of success and recommendations ...... 73 5.1 The secret of success ...... 73 5.2 General recommendations ...... 74 Appendix ...... 77
2 List of abbreviations BMR: Barcelona Metropolitan Region GDP: Gross Domestic Product LDC: Less Developing Countries MAP: Metropolitan Area of Barcelona MITYC: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce in Spain MOT: Ministry of Tourism in Egypt MRP: Metropolitan Region of Barcelona PEMB: Pla Estratègic Metropolità de Barcelona (Strategic Metropolitan Plan of Barcelona) SMPB: Strategic Metropolitan Plan of Barcelona TNC: Transnational Corporation UNWTO: United Nations World Tourism Organization WTO: World Tourism Organization WWF: World Wildlife Fund
List of figures Figure 2.1, International tourist arrivals by region in millions ………..…………………………… ..10 Figure 2.2, Inbound tourism by purpose of visit and mode of transport in 2010 ……………………...11 Figure 2.3, Tourism life cycle ………………………………………………………………………..12 Figure 2.4, Urban tourism interference with other forms of tourism……………………… ...………..15 Figure 2.5, Principles for strategic tourism planning ………………………………………………….19 Figure 3.1, Map represents the regions of Egypt ………………………………………………….………...22 Figure 3.2, The map shows the seven districts of Alexandria governorate ………………………….………22 Figure 3.3, Sectors of urban tourism study ……….…………………..……………………………..………..27 Figure 3.4, The first, second, and third sectors of tourism patterns and constituents, respectively ….……...28 Figure 3.5, The comprehensive vision for tourism development in Alexandria till 2050 ……… ……..…….30 Figure 3.6, Map represents the Regions of Spain, Catalonia is the 9th region .……………...…………….33 Figure 3.7, The map shows the ten districts of Barcelona …………………………...………… ……………33 Figure 3.8, Map for 1986-1993 main projects ……………………………………………….…...………….36 Figure 3.9, Map of Barcelona before 1992 Plan ……..………………………………………………………38 Figure 3.10, Map of Barcelona after 1992 Plan ………..……………………………………….……...……38 Figure 3.11, Mission proposal for strategic plan 1999 – 2005 ………………………………….……………41 Figure 3.12, The current and 2006/2010 vision of SMPB……………………………………….....…………43 Figure 3.13, Map of strategic projects in the 2010 prospectus ………………………………….....………...44 Figure 3.14, The projects in the 2010 prospectus ………………………………………...…………..……...45 Figure 4.1, Population evolution between 1966 and 2011 in Alexandria governorate and Barcelona Metropolitan Region ………………………………………………………………………49 Figure 4.2, Climate data for Alexandria and Barclona over the year ………………………....……….49 Figure 4.3, Amount of rain perciption in milimeters in Alexandria and Barcelona …………………...50 Figure 4.4, Number of rooms in Alexandria and Barcelona …………………………………………...51 3 Figure 4.5, Percentage of rooms occupancy in Alexandria and Barcelona …………..……….………52 Figure 4.6, Number of hotels in Alexandria and Barcelona ………………………………..…………53 Figure 4.7, Number of tourists in Alexandria and Barcelona…………………………………..…….. 53 Figure 4.8, Purpose to visit Barcelona ………………………………………………..……………….54 Figure 4.9, Number of tourists by origins …………………………………………………….………55 Figure 4.10, Alexandria map from the Alexandria’s ultimate guide given free at the information point ..55 Figure 4.11, Hotels map in Barcelona and the most visited areas …………………………………....56 Figure 4.12, The profile of Barcelona website for tourism …………………………………….…….59 Figure 4.13, The profile of Alexandria website for tourism ……………...…………………….……60 Figure 4.14, Tourism share in GDP in Egypt and Spain …………………………………….………..61 Figure 4.15, Administrative structure of ministry of tourism in Egypt ……………………….………63 Figure 4.16, Administrative structure of ministry of industry, tourism and commerce in Spain….…..64 Figure 4.17, The proposed design for the eastern harbor of Alexandria (Metamorphosis) …….…….70 Figure 5.1, A proposed framework of a successful urban tourism ………………………………………...76
List of tables Table 3.1, Alexandria plans in history ……………………………………………………………….……..24 Table 3.2, Expected types of tourism to be attracted in Alexandria – strategic plan for 2022 ……………..30 Table 4.1, SWOT Analysis for the geographical location for Alexandria and Barcelona ………………....48 Table 4.2, SWOT Analysis for Urban development, utilities, services & infrastructure of Alexandria and Barcelona ………………………………………………………………………………………..57 Table 4.3, SWOT Analysis for Urban tourism of Alexandria and Barcelona ……………………………..58 Table 4.4, Rankings for Egypt, Alexandria, Spain and Barcelona ……………………………………...…57 Table 4.5, Prizes that Alexandria and Barcelona have …………………………………………………….58 Table 4.6, SWOT Analysis for the economic, social and environmental capitals …………………...……62
4 Acknowledgement
First of all, thank you to every one taught me one letter from the day I was born till the day I will defend this thesis.
Thanks to the European Commission – Education and Training program of the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window lot 2 which funded my research through 22 months, and gave me the opportunity to study and learn in different European universities, and also my home university the VUB, my professors and teachers.
This thesis could not have been written without the assistance of different individuals and organizations during interviews, questionnaires and data collection tasks. I gratefully acknowledge the help of all respondents whose replies were critically important for this study and their help is very much appreciated.
Thank you to my supervisor professor Diego Barrado for support, and professor Manal ElShahat for encouragement and support.
Finally, many thanks to my Mother who always prays for me, Father and Brother for the continuous psychological encouragement and support I received from them, also my friends and colleagues.
Thanks to all the good and bad times I have been through during my stay in Europe, which formulated a big and an important portion of my life experience, personality and memories, even some of them could be told to my children and grandchildren someday.
5 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview After decades of running after urban development projects (UDPs) driven by different faces, even political, economic or social. Although tourism development is part of the urban development machine which is essential to make the machine carry on especially in the most desired tourist destinations, whilst many countries compete to attract the biggest number of tourists every year, while other countries depending mainly on tourism as a national income and the only source for living and economic development (17 countries in the world, as Vatican, Monaco, San Marino, Marshall Islands, Maldives, Malta, …etc)
The richness and the diversity of the Mediterranean natural landscape, climate, human and cultural values have made this region the most important tourist destination in the world.
On the other hand, tourism over the last decades has become an economic sector of great importance for many developed and developing countries. The tourism industry serves millions of people traveling internationally and as travel and recreation are becoming more accessible to people, it is expected to be the world leading economic sector. Tourism covers diverse activities as transport, accommodation, entertainment, and catering while has indirect effects on many other activities.
So far, the idea of tourism evolved during the last three decades, from beach and sea tourism to cultural tourism to business and shopping tourism, to nowadays urban tourism. While, many cities recognized that kind of tourism and make strategies to fulfill the tourist desires and amusement towards this aims, other cities still processing the traditional kind of tourism. Whereas, there is an evitable tendency in any local community progressively to replace traditional productive activities with tourism as soon as it becomes apparent that tourism is significantly more profitable than traditional industries, mainly agriculture and forestry. When this occurs, other activities and farms are frequently abandoned and they eventually deteriorate or are lost.
1.2 Abstract The research will tackle a comparative study between Alexandria in Egypt and Barcelona in Spain as a two cases of tourism in the Mediterranean Sea to conclude an integrated model of a successful urban tourism. Whilst both are Mediterranean cities with many similarities weather and location wise, also with many differences from the cultural aspect and tourism flows. As Barcelona depends more on international tourism than national one, which is the opposite case for Alexandria which depends more on national tourism, as a national tourism destination.
Investigating and analyzing the urban tourism in both cities - even this idea is not developed yet in Alexandria – focusing on strategic plans in the last two decades and how they facilitate urban tourism in cities. Meanwhile, what strategic plans translate to urban development projects in both cities considering economic changes and tourists flows and some statistical data (number of tourists, number of hotels, etc.) what differences occur on the coastal zone landscape and skyline. Alexandria library area, lighthouse, east and west harbors, and Stanley Bridge and beach, versus Barcelona Port Vell, Passeig de Colom, Olympic park, Casino de Barcelona, Forum and Portal de la Pau.
6 1.3 Research Problem While Alexandria has good potentials to compete in the tourism industry (culture, climate, history, sea, opportunities for investment because of cheap labour and land compared to Europe) still urban tourism is not recognized in Alexandria, by which Alexandria is not a must visit tourism destination. The problem could be stated in “Alexandria is not a successful urban tourism destination considering all the potentials and assets it has”.
Hypothesis
Alexandria could be a must visit tourism destination with its potentials, while with Barcelona’s advanced & successful position in urban tourism as a “must visit” tourism destination map, the research will try to learn from its experience to escalate up the Egyptian case of Alexandria.
1.4 Research aims & objectives The research main aim is to learn from the Spanish case how urban tourism developed in Barcelona by investigating and analyzing strategic plans and statistics, to escalate the Egyptian case of Alexandria.
Beside the research main aim there are some other objectives which could be illustrated as following:
1- Find a definition for urban tourism
2- Understand how strategic planning can help urban tourism to develop
3- Suggest an implementation plan to develop urban tourism in Alexandria
1.5 Research questions - Main question 1. Why and how urban tourism in Barcelona is a successful experience?
- Secondary questions 2. Which parts of Barcelona urban tourism have been the most important for this success (the big events like the Olympics or Forum, the recuperation of the city center etc…)? 3. Have Strategic Planning played a big role in this success of Urban Tourism in Barcelona?
1.6 Research methodology and structure So far, the research will be split to two main parts theoretical and analytical parts within 4 main chapters plus the research conclusions and recommendations chapter. With a qualitative framework, the research will deal with a mixed-methods-research, where both qualitative and quantitative research techniques are combined together to analyze qualitative and quantitative data.
On one hand a qualitative research, to identify subjectively a detailed description about the past, present and future situation of urban tourism in the two case studies with in deep research in strategic plans and tourism using semi- structured interviews and analysis of documents and materials (SWOT Analysis). On the other hand a quantitative research, to classify and count features to construct statistical models to explain what is observed using and analyzing statistical data, surveys and questionnaires (which depends on the time frame and scientific satisfaction of the research).
7 - The research will be presented as following The theoretical part contains three chapters as following:
• Chapter one: Introduction, research problem, questions and objectives, methodology and structure.
Qualitative data
• Chapter two: Literature review, tourism as an industry and urban tourism, mass tourism and coastal tourism, strategic planning, tourism planning, tourism planning and development, urban tourism and strategic planning, and urban development and urban tourism.
• Chapter three: Introduces the two case studies, urban tourism and strategic planning in Alexandria and Barcelona, and how tourism evolves during the last two decades.
While the Analytical part contains two chapters as following:
Quantitative data
• Chapter four: presenting the results of the analysis process, questionnaires and interviews.
• Chapter five: answering the research question, and finally some recommendations and conclusions.
8 Chapter 2: Literature Review As more than half of the world’s population is living now in urban areas. These places are considered to be a stage of different civilizations which inspires people to travel and experience different cultures. Cities are centers of entertainment, leisure and arts, also gateways for traditions and modern society. Also, focal points for commerce, industry and finance, they gave us a chance to experience creativity and diversity, icons and architecture, culture and people. This part of the research will deal with the theoretical background of not only tourism and strategic planning definitions but also some terms related to tourism and strategic planning such as urban development and tourism planning.
2.1 Tourism - as an industry Tourism gains its importance as an industrial activity as the world’s largest economic sector, as Scheyvens and Momsen argued tourism is the world’s largest industry1. As in the past 50 years, tourism has been marked by extraordinary expansion. In 1950 there were 25 million international tourist arrivals recorded. By 1999, the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2000) estimated that there were in excess of 664 million international tourist arrivals and that international tourism receipts for that year (excluding international fare receipts) reached US$ 455 billion. Tourism is continuing to grow and it is predicted that by 2010, there will be one billion international tourist arrivals annually. To place the total phenomenon of tourism in perspective, it is estimated that international tourism accounts for only 20% of all tourist activity. The rest comprises domestic travel.2
The economic importance of tourism is indisputable. Tourism is one of the five top export categories for 83% of countries and the main source of foreign exchange for at least 38% of them. In 1998, international tourism and international fare receipts accounted for approximately eight percent of total export earnings on goods and services worldwide. Total international tourism receipts (inclusive of international fares) amounted to an estimated US$ 532 billion, surpassing all other international trade categories (WTO, 2000). Tourism is the only international trade in services in which the LDCs (Less Developing Counties) have consistently had surpluses compared with the rest of the world. Between 1980 and 1996, LDCs' positive balance in the travel account rose from US$ 4.6 billion to US$ 65.9 billion. This was driven primarily by the growth of inbound tourism to countries in Asia, the Pacific and Africa.3
Tourism usually called in terms of being an industry defined as “being a group of independent firms, all turning out the same product, sameness being defined in terms of their sustainability expressed as the cross-elasticity of demand”.4 Likorish and Jenkins, suggest that tourism comprises three kinds of businesses or "trades":
(1) The primary trades, which are most commonly associated with tourism (e.g., transport, tour companies, travel agencies, accommodations, catering facilities and attractions);
1 Scheyvens, R. and Momsen, J. H. (2008). Tourism and Poverty Reduction: Issues for small Island States. Tourism Geographies, 10(1), pp 22‐41. Asian Social Science, vol. 5, No. 5, page 1 (http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/1710/1604) 2 Tracy Berno and Kelly Bricker, 2001, page 4, International Journal of Economic Development 3,3, 2001, pp. (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 3 Tracy Berno and Kelly Bricker, 2001, page 4 & 5, International Journal of Economic Development 3,3, 2001, pp. (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 4 Tracy Berno and Kelly Bricker, 2001, page 5, International Journal of Economic Development 3,3, 2001, pp. (Tourism Industry) (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 9 (2) The secondary trades that help support tourism (e.g., retail shopping, banks and insurance, entertainment and leisure activities, personal services); and, (3) The tertiary trades, which provide the basic infrastructure and support for tourism (e.g., public sector services, food and fuel, manufacturing).5
As the conceptualization of tourism as an industry and a product is broad in scope and complex in nature, this complexity is further reflected in the fragmented way in which tourism is organized. Leiper and Swarbrooke defined tourism as “an integrated system in which the constituent parts are linked, a change in one part affects the other parts, thus sustainable tourism requires a holistic approach”.6
The current situation of tourism industry is a growing concern for every country. The next figure indicates the international tourist arrivals per region and the expectations till the year 2020. The figure shows that tourist arrivals were increasing steadily from the year 1950 till 1995 which after then witnessed a rapid increase from 1995 till 2010 which was interrupted by the economic crisis of the new millennium 2000, while the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) expected that tourist arrivals will grow to reach 1.6 billion arrival by the year 2020, which I think it is a bit optimistic regarding the economic and political changes in the world nowadays. Also, shows that Africa is the least visited region 5% after the Middle East 6%, the Americas 16%, Asia and the pacific 22%, and Europe which represents 51% of the world tourist arrivals and most visited region.
Figure 2.1, International tourist arrivals by region in millions 7
5 Likorish, L.J. & Jenkins, C.L. (1997). An introduction to tourism. Oxford: Butterworth‐Heinemann. Tracy Berno and Kelly Bricker, 2001, page 5 & 6, International Journal of Economic Development 3,3, 2001, pp. (Tourism Industry) (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 6 Leiper, N. (1990). Tourism systems (pp. 1‐40). Palmerston North: Department of Management Systems, Massey University & Swarbrooke, J. (1999). Sustainable tourism management. Wallingford, UK:CABI. Tracy Berno and Kelly Bricker, 2001, page 12, International Journal of Economic Development 3,3, 2001, pp. (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 7 (http://mkt.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/unwtohighlights11enhr.pdf) 10 Leisure, recreation and holidays still dominating the tourist arrivals as it represents 51% of the purpose of visit in the world according to 2010 statistics, while visiting friends, health, religious and other purposes comes in the second rank with 27% then business and professional arrivals with 15%, while 7% of the purposes are not specified.
Meanwhile, tourists who travel by air represent 51% due to the growth of many low cost airlines which offer cheap flights sometimes cheaper than road and rail trips, as it is expected to grow more in the coming years. Road travels come in the second place with 41% while tourists who travel by water represent 6% and by railways only 2%.
Figure 2.2, Inbound tourism by purpose of visit and mode of transport in 2010 8
2.2 Tourism in other words 2.2.1 Tourism as a general term Pigram argues that tourism is a component of recreation, while Murphy counter-argues that. Nonetheless Dan and Cohen note that there are scholars who adapt a more eclectic stance, instead of being tied down by a specific theoretical approach. In this manner Smith argues that researchers, international and national tourism associations, business entities and government agencies give different definitions based on their own perception and interest.9
Jafari defines tourism based on an anthropological point of view. “Tourism is the study of man away from his usual habitat, of the industry, which responds to his needs, and of the impacts that both he and the industry have on the host’s socio-cultural, economic, and physical environments”. On the other hand Murphy defines tourism as “the sum of … the travel of non-residents (tourists, including excursionists) to destination areas, as long as their sojourn does not become a permanent residence. It is a combination of recreation and business”.10
“Any person residing within a country, irrespective of nationality, travelling to a place within this country other than his usual place of residence for a period of not less than 24 hours or one night for a purpose other than the exercise of a remunerated activity in the place visited. The motives for such travel may be (1) leisure (recreation, holidays, health, studies, religion, sports); (2) business, family, mission, meeting” 11
8 (http://mkt.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/unwtohighlights11enhr.pdf) 9 Asian Social Science, vol. 5, No. 5, page 1 (http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/1710/1604) 10 Asian Social Science, vol. 5, No. 5, page 1 (http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/1710/1604) 11 Asian Social Science, vol. 5, No. 5, page 1 (http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/1710/1604) 11 While some researchers argue that tourism has a life cycle known as the “Tourism life cycle” defined as: “Tourism products, such as marketed and labeled destinations, tend to pass through a life cycle that goes from a period of euphoria with large territorial transformation and rapid environmental degradation, to a period when the product reaches its mature state and environmental awareness evolves. Then, in the interim, sometimes pollution problems become less important due to the investment in environmental equipment and infrastructures to maintain what is called “environmental quality standards”. Finally, more subtle conservation problems arise including loss of symbolic and cultural landscapes and livelihoods”.12
Figure 2.3, Tourism life cycle 13
2.2.2 Mass Tourism (MT) & Conventional Mass Tourism Mass tourism started when this activity was produced in a Fordism way, more or less after the WWII or even before. Mass tourism is not only a massive number of people but a way of producing tourism in an industrial model.
While Swarbrooke argued that, potentially sustainable tourism could become a divisive force in society if there continues to be a value based distinction made between ‘good’ tourism (the so-called alternative forms of tourism) and ‘bad’ tourism (mass tourism)14. He claimed mass tourism as bad tourism regarding to all its bad effect on the environment which clarify to be more sustained. Mass tourism had emerged as a result of social advances such as paid leave, women in the workforce, flexi-time and transport advances such as the wide bodied jet.
12 Rafael Sarda, Joan Mora & Conxita Avila, Tourism Development in the Costa Brava(Girona, Spain) – how integrated coastal zone management may rejuvenate its life cycle. (http://www.zib‐wiso.uni‐koeln.de/uploads/media/Managing_European_Coasts__Ch_16‐Sarda_et_al.2005_.pdf) 13 (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yVhPtfNFOXo/S5j2016NGgI/AAAAAAAAAEw/y2u13y0NfV4/s1600‐h/x5626e0d.gif) 14 Swarbrooke, J. (1999). Sustainable tourism management. Wallingford, UK:CABI, Tracy Berno and Kelly Bricker, 2001, page 11, International Journal of Economic Development 3,3, 2001, pp. (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 12 2.2.3 Coastal Mass Tourism (CMT) Coastal areas experience intense pressure in the high seasons of tourism when millions of people move to coastal areas specially to spend their vacations in summer, as this phenomenon is going to increase in the coming years, the fear of the coastal mass tourism impacts increase. Meanwhile many precautions are taken to decrease and minimize those impacts through different ways, for example Integrated Coastal Zone Management and sustainable tourism.15
2.2.4 Mediterranean Tourism The Mediterranean has been identified by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) as one of the most important regions in the world for its outstanding biodiversity features. It is one of the cradles of civilization with a rich natural and cultural heritage. The Mediterranean Sea is the region with the highest percentage of endemic species - species living only in this part of the world - after the tropical seas: 20% of all marine species can only be found in it. Very endangered species dwell in its water: the monk seal, the loggerhead and the green turtle as well as several species of cetaceans.
The Mediterranean region is the leading tourist destination. Tourism is mainly concentrated in the coastal areas which receive 30% of international tourist arrivals. The most widely used tourism development model used in the region is based on seaside summer holidays and the attainment of quantitative goals. Of the total 46,000 km of coastline, 25,000 km is urbanized and have already exceeded a critical limit.
International tourist arrivals (excluding domestic arrivals) in 1999 totaled 219.6 million (4.7% increase over 1998). Projections show that this figure could reach 350 million by 2020. 84% of the tourists in the Mediterranean come from Europe, mostly from northern and western countries. Germany is the largest market followed by the United Kingdom, France and Italy. Spain, France, Italy, and Greece receive almost 80% of Mediterranean tourism.
The Mediterranean receives one third of the income of international tourism. Tourism receipts in 1999 totaled US$ 131.8 billion. Over the last three years, two thirds of the income returned to the hands of less than 10 tour operators from northern Europe. 16
2.2.5 Tourism Development Todaro emphasized that development is a “multi-dimensional process involving major changes in social structure, popular attitude and national institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and eradication of poverty”. Tourism, through its face-to-face contact between the hosts and the visitors and the ‘demonstration effect’, often introduces new ideas, values and lifestyles and new stimuli for both economic and social progress.17
Tourism development is both supply-led and demand-driven, while an evolution on one side of the demand-supply equation will usually be accompanied by changes in the other, whether this represents growth, stagnation, decline, or some qualitative transformation.18
15 Bill Bramwell, 2004. Coastal Mass Tourism: Diversification and Sustainable Development in Southern Europe. 16 World WildLife Fund (WWF), http://www.monachus‐guardian.org/library/wwftou01.pdf 17 Zhenhau Liu (2003: 467), the Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Curran Building, 94 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 OLG, United Kingdom, Journal of sustainable tourism, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2003. 18 Liu, Z. (2003) Sustainable tourism development: a critique. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11 (6). pp. 459‐475. ISSN 0966‐9582, (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/4105/1/strathprints004105.pdf). Page 462. 13 Tourism development is defined as “a dynamic process of matching tourism resources to the demands and preferences of actual or potential tourists”19
Tourism development needs a wide type of resources or assets which can be classified according to utilities into natural and other resources: Natural resources types observed in: 1) touristic resources, which are only suitable for tourism purposes, such as sandy beaches and snowy slopes, 2) shared tourist resources, which are mainly used in tourism and a limited number of other industries like fishery and agriculture, such as sea and forest, 3) common resources, which are used in most industries and everyday life, such as land and water. Other resources: three levels of resources: 1) the attractions for tourists, including natural, cultural and purpose-built; 2) the infrastructure and superstructure, to support tourist activities; 3) and the physical and social settings including the hospitality of the community.20
2.2.6 Tourism Planning In the past, Tourism planning was typically concerned about how to encourage new hotels to open; making sure that the area is accessible by transportation and organizing a tourist promotion campaign. This kind of planning was pretty successful, but after tourism had developed rapidly leading to the phenomenon of mass tourism, these places have since paid the social and environmental costs of unplanned tourism development.
Planning generally is defined as “a highly formalized and disciplined activity through which society induces changes in itself. It is a goal-directed decision-making process. It therefore involves an ability to anticipate future events, a capability for analyzing and evaluating situations, and a capacity for innovative thinking in order to derive satisfactory solutions. Tourism planning applies the same basic concepts and approaches as general planning, but adapted to attributes of the tourism system.21
Although not always possible to achieve, the planning process should be prepared in sequence from the general to the specific, because general levels provide the framework and guidance for preparing specific plans. Tourism should first be planned at the national and regional levels. At these levels, planning is concerned with tourism development policies, facility standards, structural plans, institutional factors and all the other elements necessary to develop and manage tourism. Then, more detailed plans for tourist attractions, resorts, urban, rural and other forms of tourism development can be prepared. There are several important specific benefits of undertaking national and regional tourism planning (Box 3.2.). 22 Tourism planning aims usually to: - To identify the major elements of a tourism destination plan - To understand the concept of master or comprehensive planning in tourism development - To understand the importance of tourism destination planning
19 Liu, Z. (2003) Sustainable tourism development: a critique. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11 (6). pp. 459‐475. ISSN 0966‐9582, (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/4105/1/strathprints004105.pdf). Page 462. 20 Liu, Z. (2003) Sustainable tourism development: a critique. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11 (6). pp. 459‐475. ISSN 0966‐9582, (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/4105/1/strathprints004105.pdf). Page 464. 21 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 23 22 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 24 14 - To understand the factors that influence the tourism planning process 23
2.3 Urban Tourism Tourism is “one among many social and economic forces in the urban environment. It encompasses an industry that manages and markets a variety of products and experiences to people who have a wide range of motivations, preferences and cultural perspectives and are involved in a dialectic engagement with the host community. “The outcome of this engagement is a set of consequences for the tourist, the host community and the industry” 24
Figure 2.4, Urban tourism interference with other forms of tourism 25
2.3.1 The emergence of urban tourism The emergence of urban tourism through a process when tourism was seen as a danger in 1970 is described by Ashworth as a defensive approach to tourism in the city. However, the economic conditions after the 1970’s were the most significant phenomenon in the city, which allowed tourism to be placed as an important urban function. The economic decline of the cities in the UK, Western Europe and Northern America in the late 1970’s highlighted the role of tourism as a catalyst to boost urban economies. Therefore, tourism is suggested as a mean to manage the change and transition of city functions, and then is expanded to become the principal sector in the city economies. In parallel with this, tourism and urban regeneration started to become important activities and received greater attention in the 1980’s related to the problems that exist in the city. 26
23 (http://www.tim.hawaii.edu/dl/Document%20Library%20%20TO%20490%20Additional%20Materials/TO490_section-5_destination- planning.pdf) Tourism destination planning and development – page 1. 24 (http://www.sustainabletourismonline.com/search results.aspx?term=UNDERSTANDING%20URBAN%20TOURISM%20IMPACTS:%20AN%20AUSTRALIAN%20STUDY&type=All) 1st search results – understanding urban tourism impacts, an Australian study. Page 2 25 URBAN TOURISM – FORM OF TOURISM WITH REAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE FOR CITIES, page 165 (http://steconomice.uoradea.ro/anale/volume/2009/v2‐economy‐and‐business‐administration/27.pdf) 26 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 15 Related on this, Ashworth names two conditions how as to the concepts urban and tourism join together, which shows the complexity of relationship between urban features and tourism functions in creating urban tourism. Firstly: (1) the characteristics intrinsic of cities as a settlement type are an instrument in shaping tourism or leisure activities where the roles of urban tourism emerge. On the other hand: (2) the function of tourism or leisure also becomes the instrument in shaping important aspects of cities. Moreover, cities are places where various major facilities such as transport, hotel facilities and event facilities are located. Based on this, Blank identifies five major factors that characterize cities as tourism destinations, which are: - Location of high populations, which attract high numbers of tourists who are visiting friends and relatives. - Major travel nodes that serve as gateways or transfer points to other destinations. - Focal points for commerce, industry and finance. - Harbour concentrations of people services such as education, administration centre, health and others. - Places that offer a wide variety of cultural, artistic and recreational experiences. 27
From a more comprehensive view, the complexity of urban tourism can be addressed through three elements that involve (1) the tourist, (2) the tourism industry, and (3) the city (Fainstein and Judd, 1999). These elements interact and produce a complex ecological system, where each of them is unique but is strongly related. In the simplest way, Fainstein and Judd (1999) refer to this relationship as (1) the need of taste and desires of tourists, which (2) requires cities to transform the environment for tourists to inhabit, and therefore (3) requires the constant transformation of urban landscapes for the tourism industry as a ‘must’ feature for the political economy of the cities. 28
At the same time, these works were followed by many others urban tourism researchers, contributing to further specific exploration of the tourism nature of the city. However, one important point, which should be addressed here, is that the existence of these works mostly inclines to be referring to and examine the phenomenon in the Western countries such as UK, Western Europe and Northern America. In the literature, understanding of the urban tourism phenomenon outside Western countries in developing countries has received less attention and requires more exploration. Therefore, it is important to see different points of view on how urban tourism actually emerges in developing countries compare to developed countries. 29
2.3.2 Urban tourism in developing countries Maybe the first question ought to address is the main features of urban tourism development in developing countries. It might be difficult to be answer without more studies since urban tourism or even overall systems of tourism in developing countries still receive limited attention. Moreover, Oppermann and Chon noted that in developing countries ‘compared to seaside resorts, city tourism and urban models have attracted less attention’. However, there are some attempts by a few tourism and urban/geography researchers that directly try to examine
27 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 28 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 29 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 16 more detail related to (1) how the urban tourism concept should be applied, and (2) the evolution of urban tourism space with specific reference to case studies in developing countries. 30
According to Singh, in the case of cities such Lucknow in India, tourism should exist in the city as part of a concern to secure its heritage assets. Battle against pollution by reinforcing the effort to increases the quality of the urban landscape especially in the highly populated downtown area. At the same time, Weaver introduced models of urban tourism space in Caribbean Islands, which also reflect an example of developing countries. It focuses on (1) the evolution of small island space in providing tourism activities, and (2) how it then influences the urbanization from port or dock areas, which can be compared to larger cities especially in geographic or spatial structure, size and different size of population. At least, one can be determine from here that tourism has strong influences in the process of urbanization beginning in the port or dock area. Firstly, (1) as a node of tourist development area that changes and influences the urbanization of the whole island, secondly, (2) it played a role at a regional level as a gateway or hub that allowed tourism activities to exist and then distribute tourists to the whole area of the Caribbean island. 31
Mullins noted that most of the largest cities in developing countries in Southeast Asia have realized that they could take tourism as a way to ‘expand consumption opportunities’ and therefore, contribute to the growth of their economies. Related on this, three characteristic that influence urban tourism and tourism urbanization in Southeast Asia can be seen, which are: Tourist as demand for tourism product, Economic supplier as those who manufacture, market and sell goods and services to tourist. These involve (1) transnational corporations as leader in the tourism industry, and (2) local producers and merchants that sell goods and services directly to tourist, and also the Political actors that use ‘political means’ in projecting urban development. 32
Moreover, international tourism is the central development for this region and for growing cities in Southeast Asia especially principal countries of tourism destination in the middle 1990’s such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In addition, Mullins found that in Southeast Asia, ‘the more dynamic and capitalist the economy, the more urbanized the country and the greater the likelihood of having the infrastructure and facilities to cater to international tourists’.33
2.4 Urban Development and Urban Tourism Development in general means the growth or progress in any field while, urban development is the development, growth and progress of issues related to urban planning. Most of the time urban development in literature is related and linked to sustainable development by a way or another, as Wheeler defined sustainable urban development as "development that improves the long-term social and ecological health of cities and towns.34
30 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 31 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 32 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 33 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 34 Wheeler Stephen. "Planning Sustainable and Livable Cities", 1998, ISBN 0‐415‐27173‐8, Routledge, New York. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_development#cite_note‐Wheeler_Stephen_1998‐14) 17 It should also be noted that development does not necessarily involve ‘growth’ as it is essentially a process of realizing ‘specific social and economic goals which may call for a stabilization, increase, reduction, change of quality or even removal of existing products, firms, industries, or other elements’35. Meanwhile, when luck of effective planning and management strategies is occurred, “urban growth typically evolves in response mainly to economic pressures, subject to physical resource constraints” 36
Thus, there is a very strong relation between urban development and urban tourism as there is no urban tourism without urban development. This urban development should not be random, it should take into consideration urban tourism needs from hotels and recreational areas which serve and facilitate the tourism industry to grow and maintain. Therefore, tourism development needs a wide type of resources or assets which can be classified according to utilities into natural and other resources: Natural resources types observed in: 1) touristic resources, which are only suitable for tourism purposes, such as sandy beaches and snowy slopes, 2) shared tourist resources, which are mainly used in tourism and a limited number of other industries like fishery and agriculture, such as sea and forest, 3) common resources, which are used in most industries and everyday life, such as land and water. Other resources: three levels of resources: 1) the attractions for tourists, including natural, cultural and purpose-built; 2) the infrastructure and superstructure, to support tourist activities; 3) and the physical and social settings including the hospitality of the community.37
2.5 Strategic Planning and Urban Tourism Strategic planning is the process of identifying objectives and defining and evaluating methods of achieving them. It considers all of the tourism resources, organizations, markets, and programs within a destination. Also considers economic, environmental, social, and institutional aspects of tourism development.
It is a “step-by-step” process with definite objectives and end products that can be implemented and evaluated, a process by which we look into the future, paint a picture of that future based on current trends, and of objectives that we set for ourselves, and influence the forces that will affect us. It tells you where you are, where you want to go, how you wish to get there, when you want to arrive, who will do the work, and how much you are willing to pay.38 Generally, strategic planning is a long term planning which differ from short term planning such as annual programs and year-to-year plans, while long term strategic planning does not guarantee success but improves odds of success. It is suggested that the planning horizon be no shorter than three years and extended up to 10 years. All of this is achieved through dynamic, flexible and adaptable planning process. 39
35 Liu, Z. (2003) Sustainable tourism development: a critique. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11 (6). pp. 459‐475. ISSN 0966‐9582, (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/4105/1/strathprints004105.pdf). Page 461. 36 Constandinides G. (2001) Urbanisation and Town Management in the Mediterranean Countries Sub‐regional study: Malta and Cyprus, Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development Nikolaos Pappas, page 2: PhD Researcher in the University if Aegean, Mediterranean Tourism: A Comparative Study of Urban Island Host Destinations, (http://tour.teipat.gr/Files/Synedrio/Conference%20Articles/Pappas_paper.pdf) 37 Liu, Z. (2003) Sustainable tourism development: a critique. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11 (6). pp. 459‐475. ISSN 0966‐9582, (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/4105/1/strathprints004105.pdf). Page 464. 38 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 44 39 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 44&45 18 Strategic planning is a cyclical process which generally consists of three major phases. The first phase includes: Decision to begin a planning process; Preparation and adoption of a vision statement; Creation of a framework for stakeholder involvement; Analysis; and Definition of a strategy. 40
The second phase is more iterative and it is concerned with the formulation of the strategic action plan. The third phase of the strategic planning process is when the plan is implemented and monitored. As a result of monitoring and evaluation, the plan is reviewed and revised. Plan revisions are correspondingly made in the implementation. The iteration continues until the plan is declared as successfully completed. 41
Urban tourism should be included in the three phases of the strategic plan; urban tourism is an essential element which cannot be separated from the strategic planning phases. And if urban tourism ignored from the strategic plan phases the result will be an unplanned and random development which will threat any possibility of future planned development by which affects urban tourism negatively. In my opinion the relation between urban tourism and strategic planning is essential depending on mutual benefits as urban tourism benefits from strategic planning which creates new urban spaces and facilities or even renovate existing urban ones. Strategic planning could make from a city a successful or unsuccessful urban tourism destination, as will be shown later through the strategic planning of Alexandria and Barcelona.
Meanwhile, the methodological framework to establish the process of strategic planning for sustainable tourism development in coastal areas, as proposed here, is based on five guiding sets of principles as shown below.
Figure 2.5, Principles for strategic tourism planning 42
The overall objectives of a Strategic Planning Process for Sustainable Tourism Development could be defined as: • Assist communities in taking a bigger picture view of their tourism industry and recognizing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; • Get communities to focus on “where they want to go” and “how they are going to get there” in terms of setting goals and objectives, and formulating action plans; • Emphasize the need for sustainable tourism projects to be market driven;
40 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 44&45 41 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 44&45 42 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 71 19 • Help identify, organize and mobilize resources to facilitate projects and activities; • Get communities to plan for both the short, medium and long term; • Help set priorities in light of scarce resources; • Provide milestones (goals/objectives) to assist with performance monitoring and evaluation; • Assign accountability to specific actions, and thereby facilitate implementation of strategic plans, etc.43
43 (http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) sustainable coastal tourism as an integrated planning and management approach ‐ page 74 20 Chapter 3: Case studies 3.1 Overview on Alexandria 3.1.1 History Alexander the Great laid the foundations of Alexandria after his occupation to Egypt in 331 BC aiming to perpetuate his memory and his strong need to a trade and military seaport allowing him to control the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria witnessed some booming periods as witnessed some degradation ones, as Ptolemy the 1st used it as the capital of Egypt while Ptolemy the 2nd used it as the 1st capital of the Greek civilization and the link between the east, west and south. When the Romans opened Egypt in 30 BC Alexandria stayed the center of rule for six centuries till the Arab Conquest. 44
Alexander the great targeted three main goals when Alexandria was established: 1- Cultural: his new city to be the fort of the Greek civilization, which Alexandria built upon the bases of this civilization, also to spread religion all over the east after opening it and subjecting it to his power. 2- Militarily: aiming that Alexandria to be his navy base to control the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea 3- Trading: as he destroyed the Sur port in his way to Egypt, he was in need to build a new port which has the same status of Sur in trade specially to develop the trading relations between Egypt and the Aegean Sea area which existed centuries ago.45
Alexandria was established in the same place of an old fishing village named Barracuda, and Alexander’s chief architect Dinocrates was in charge of the city planning. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to his city.46
In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and, for some centuries more, was second after Rome. It became the main Greek city of Egypt, with an extraordinary mix of Greeks. Alexandria was not only a centre of Hellenism, but was also home to the largest Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, was produced there. 47
3.1.2 Location Alexandria Governorate is the 2nd biggest urban settlement and capital of Egypt after great Cairo, located in the 2nd region of the Egyptian regions which includes three governorates including Alexandria, in north-west Egypt. The region of Alexandria area is 224,900 square km, which represents 22.5 % of Egypt’s area. The area of Alexandria governorate is 2,680 square km. which represents 11% of the region’s area. Alexandria’s waterfront extends to 93.5 km. starting from east Abu Qir gulf to west The 61.5 km. Alexandria borders Elbehera governorate from the east and south and Marsa Matroh governorate from the west, the Mediterranean Sea from the north and Mariout Lake from the south. 48
44 Alexandria strategic plan (September 1997) for 2017, first report, Urban Studies. Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) 45 Alexandria strategic plan (September 1997) for 2017, first report, Urban Studies. Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) 46 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria 47 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria 48 Alexandria strategic plan (September 1997) for 2017, first report, Urban Studies. Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) 21
Figure 3.1, Map represents the regions of Egypt 49
Figure 3.2, the map shows the seven districts of Alexandria governorate. 50
The governorate of Alexandria is divided into 6 main municipalities and the city of Borg ElArab as shown in the previous figure.
49 Alexandria strategic plan (September 1997) for 2017, first report, Urban Studies. Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) 50 http://www.shbab‐alex.com/new/?page_id=403 22 3.1.3 Tourism, urban development and strategic plans in Alexandria Tourism in Alexandria Tourism activity is considered as a leading and essential economic activity in Alexandria, which the country gave a great attention to, as a main source for income and foreign currency, beside the touristic potentials that the city has. The several types of tourism that the city enjoys are mentioned below: • Archeological and Heritage tourism (Cultural and Conference tourism) As the city have many of the historical monuments, Roman as the Romanic cemetery and the Pompey’s Pillar, Islamic as the Qaitbay Citadel, plus museums like the Roman museum and the open theater. Adding to that locations with special nature, as Gomrok (customs), Turkish and Kom Eldeka municipalities, the buildings of Salah Salem and Ahmad Orabi streets, Tahrir, Orabi, Saad Zaghlol and the mosques squares.
The revitalization project of the Alexandria library which prosperous the conference tourism and the scientific exchange between Egypt from one side and the Arab and Western world from other side, also some famous palaces as Ras Elteen, Montazah, Safa and Fatma Elzahraa. • Sunken monuments and Leisure tourism Monuments found beneath the sea level near Alexandria Bibliotheca, which existing in the Abo Qir and Eastern Port zones. Concerning leisure tourism, the city offers many theaters, cinemas, parks, gardens and game parks, also many leisure calm areas. • Beach tourism The city has a long waterfront and very nice beaches with some gulfs which increases the importance of the beach to act as a touristic attraction especially in summer on both local and national levels. These beaches vary from bathing beaches, beach parks, and sea sport beaches. This variety allows different users to enjoy the mild weather and the light waves. • Medical tourism The city have many hospitals public, university, military, and private which offers a lot of medical services to local and close villages inhabitants. • Business tourism Alexandria is considered as an important sea port on the Mediterranean Sea, also as a commercial and industrial center, where businessmen travel across the country for trade or for spending holidays even in winter or summer also to attend commercial and industrial exhibitions. • Sports tourism Alexandria has a plenty of sport clubs with various sports games, which hosts other clubs through the different competitions held all over the year, while this kind of tourism need to be improved and well promoted. • Roots tourism For people of foreign communities (mainly from Greece and Italy) whose relatives and friends used to live in Alexandria, they tend to visit Alexandria from time to time. • Religious tourism Alexandria has many religious memorials Islamic and Christian buildings, as the mosque of Elmorsi Abu Elabas and the mosques around it, and the main Diocese and Cathedrals of Egypt.
23 Urban development plans in Alexandria The city witnessed five urban development plans since its establishment, starting with the general plan of Alexander the great which started in the year 331 BC, this plan worked for twenty three centuries. While during the nineteenth century especially when Muhammad Ali was in charge (from 1805 till 1849) – which considered the most important eras of the urbanization in the city – many large scale urban projects were constructed, as Mahmoudeia channel and the Arsenal.
Then during the twentieth century Alexandria witnessed four development plans Macklin plan in 1921, General Plan 1958, Comprehensive plan 2005 and Comprehensive plan 2017. The start of the twentieth century Alexandria witnessed a rapid urban development without following any plan, so accordingly the development characterized by random orientations which later lead to the 1921 plan. After the revolution in 1952, the City Planning Commission was formed in 1956, which sat the General Plan for Alexandria in 1958. This plan comprehended natural, social, and economic studies, which also put some future expectations for the development of the city and added two new regions to the municipalities of Alexandria.
In year 1985, a Comprehensive plan was done by the University of Alexandria, which tried to orient the development of Alexandria till the year 2005, in which the urban area was extended to 600 square km, this plan dealt with neighboring regions and its relation with the city. And in the year 1997, a plan was prepared under the name of the General Plan of Alexandria till 2017, which was considered as the extension of the 2005 plan, in which the plan sat a comprehensive strategic development for population growth and urban axes. Finally, the Strategic Plan of Alexandria for 2022 which will be mentioned later in this chapter.
Plan Area sq.km City’s area compared to city’s origin size 331 BC plan 10 1 1931 Macklin plan 105 10 times 1958 Plan 120 12 times 2005 plan 600 60 times 2017 plan 2679 268 times
Table 3.1, Alexandria plans in history 51
Strategic plans Alexandria witnessed two main strategic plans, while the strategic plans in Egypt is done as a response to the national strategic plans which then been transferred from the national level to the regional (regions level) to the local level (governorates level) this kind of hierarchy is popular with the centralized role which the Egyptian government characterized by. Accordingly, there are no separate strategic plans for tourism but tourism is included in strategic plans as a sectorial study, where I am going to mention the strategic plan lines concerning tourism through both plans. The first strategic plan was approved in September, 1997 for the period from 1998 to 2017, and the second plan is still under discussion for the period from 2011 to 2022.
51 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region. 24 1- Strategic plan 1998 to 2017 52 The Comprehensive Planning Project for Alexandria till 2005 divided the development programs to four plans five years for each starting from 1985 ending by 2005, recommending the following: - Guiding the development process towards the west and ensure the tourism development for the touristic waterfront. - Limiting the urban growth towards the south by a Green Belt to protect agriculture land from urban sprawl. - Allocating a large area southern of Dekhela harbor for future suggested industries. The strategic plan 1998 to 2017 aimed to set a comprehensive development plan for the governorate of Alexandria till 2017 through creating a tri-polar-regional strategic system: 1. The development of the existing urban cluster in the east 2. The development of the new city of Borg ElArab and the suggested urban extension towards the west 3. The development of the suggested urban cluster at the far south of the governorate
And in order to achieve the main goals of the strategic plan some studies were done, starting by the existing (land use plans, population, housing, facilities and infrastructure, economic activities) ending by a comprehensive strategic plan for Alexandria which more or less provides the city’s future needs, which also includes tourism. This plan did not include a tourism development vision for Alexandria nevertheless the needs of hotels, tourists’ number, and potentials of tourism in the city, as it will be mentioned later, while many projects mentioned in the plan were not implemented like the green belt which allowed random development in this areas, except for the construction of many touristic resorts along the west coast.
Tourism sector The first strategic plan for Alexandria concerned only about the current number of hotels and tourists at that time, mentioning only the expected number of tourists that could visit the city in 2017.
Hotels capacity from 1992 to 1996 During the period from 1992 to 1996, it recognized that hotels in Alexandria represent 12.1% of the hotels in Egypt, while the number of hotels decreased from 55 to 52 hotels. The number of rooms in Alexandria represents 8.7% of the rooms in Egypt. The rooms’ occupancy varied between 47% and 53.6% during the same period. The number of tourists increased from 318 thousand to 413 thousand tourists, while the average tourist stay decreased from 2.2 to 1.8 nights per tourist. In 1996, the tourists to Alexandria represented about 10.6% of the tourists to Egypt, while 22% were foreigners, 10% were Arabs and 68% were Egyptians.
Expected tourism till 2017 It was expected that the number of tourists will reach 822 thousand tourists in the year 2017, while the room occupancy was expected to be 55% without taking into consideration the current constructions in 1996. So far, there is no need to establish more new hotels in order not to decrease the room occupancy except if there are any feasibility studies which recommend establishing more hotels.
General recommendations - Creating a tourist guide for the monumental locations in the city (which now exists)
52 Alexandria strategic plan (September 1997) for 2017, first report, Urban Studies. Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) 25 - Providing more touristic services as info points and parking lots in touristic locations - Preserve the environment around touristic locations - Establishing trade exhibitions and commercial exhibitions for selling local and hand made products, restaurants, night clubs, cinemas and theaters - Organizing sport festivals in general and sea sports in special - Establishing sea public transportation to link between the city’s different municipalities - Developing the airport to enable to absorb more tourists and Re-planning the eastern and western coasts
2- Strategic plan 2011 to 2022 53 The Strategic Plan for 2022 is done after the last strategic plan for 2017, this plan was really developed to consider the so called urban tourism which was included not as a small sector like the 1998 strategic plan, but it was given a lot of attention with a lot of studies about tourism attractions and locations, tourism components, obstacles that tourism faces, and tourism indicators, and also how tourism industry could be developed.
Urban Tourism studies The study aims to recognize the urban tourism potentials in Alexandria, thus the development opportunities, by studying the available opportunities, and then set a strategy to develop tourism industry in Alexandria.
The study tried to present a comprehensive vision through theoretical and practical studies, field visits for tourism development on the local and regional levels. The studies figured eight different locations concerning urban tourism in the governorate of Alexandria starting from Abu Qir at the east passing through Almontazah, the East Harbor, Alagami, Hanouvel and Hammam, ending by the Allamen at the far west as shown in the map below, this coastal distance is about 126 km while the research will only focus mainly on the strategic planning and urban tourism in the city of Alexandria in which the coastal distance is about 30 km only, this sector represents the old city and the most concentrated urban tourism of Alexandria, also to find a comparable and manageable sector of study to deal with taking to consideration the research time limits.
And for the first time this strategic plan mentioned tourism planning for not only urban areas but also rural areas, as it mentioned that “tourism planning is extended to all remote and unmanned areas, rural areas and urban areas where tourism planning faces problems in both. As in rural areas the tourism sector is considered as an intruder, which leads to pollution by all its forms and changing the plant and animal environment especially wildlife.”
The strategic plan considered the constraints of urban tourism development as: • Providing touristic facilities with reasonable prices. • Efficiency of tourism infrastructure. • Efficiency of roads network, inner transportation and utilities. • Demand of large investments to provide touristic facilities and buildings. • Providing touristic facilities side by side with touristic temptations. The study divided the governorate’s tourism patterns and constituents into six sectors as in the map below:
53 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region – edited and translated by the researcher. 26
Figure 3.3, Sectors of urban tourism study 54
While the research will deal only with the first, second, and third sectors as following because these three sectors are the sectors which considered being the most visited areas by tourists and the highest concentration of urban tourism such as culture centers and historical areas in Alexandria:
54 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region – edited and translated by the researcher. 27
Figure 3.4, The first, second, and third sectors of tourism patterns and constituents, respectively 55
55 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region – edited and translated by the researcher. 28 Adding to that, the strategic plan studied the evolution of number of hotels and its capacity, from 1992 till 2002. Noting that this data includes only the hotels which had an accommodation permit which means that it does not include private rented apartments or visitors who stay in any other mean of accommodation (stays at friends or families house does not count, which is the same case in Barcelona).
During the period from 1992 till 2002 the number of hotels decreased from 55 hotels to 52 hotels, while the number of tourists increased from about 308 thousand tourists with average stay 1.9 nights/ tourist in 2002, to about 380 thousand tourists with average stay 1.6 night/tourist in 2003. This could be an indicator that tourists prefer not to stay long times in the city which may refer to the bad conditions of accommodation, while it was also mentioned that the occupancy percentage of hotels varied from 47% to 53.6%, while the number of rooms decreased from 3869 rooms in 1992 to 2756 rooms in 1996 by 3% each year. Whilst, the percentage of foreigners (non-Egyptians & non- Arabs) who stay in hotels varied between 18 and 25 %, as Arab visitors decreased especially in the first half of the 90s from 20% in 1991 to 10% in 1995.
So far, the tourism development aims generally to setup an integrated framework relaying on some main strategies in order to achieve those aims which illustrated in: • Achieve the concepts of sustainable tourism development in planning. • Treating the development region as an integrated touristic unit in terms of planning and proposed activities. • Allocating areas for future extension naturally for the tourism activity. • Creating a variety of main touristic activities and secondary activities. • Establishing ecological (touristic) motels and apartments. • Each touristic center should enjoy a special characteristic which distinguish it from other centers. • Linking the centers together as possible by sea, air and land. • Establishing some theme parks to revitalize the areas which have historical background. The strategic plan developed 10 main points for the comprehensive vision for tourism development in Alexandria, some of them could be mentioned: 1. Call for the revival of Alexandria’s history as an economic, commerce center, a crossroad of cultures and civilizations, and an axis for sailing and motorway paths. 2. Continuation of Alexandria to be the capital of culture in the region and of the world in the future. 3. Expanding urban and commercial zones, which attract tourism, leisure, trade and culture. 4. Great Attention to development project of Alexandria’s port, and make it as an In-Out harbor, moreover as a transit harbor. 5. Rehabilitation of tourism employers and linking the tourism education to what the market needs. 6. Promoting Alexandria nationally and internationally. 7. Cooperation and unity between all the authorities dealing with tourism in Alexandria. 8. Increase the citizens’ awareness towards tourism. The proposed strategy for tourism development suggested 3 main strategic alternatives, co-limited development strategy, ambitious development strategy, and balanced development strategy. Then the three strategies were evaluated through 19 evaluation criteria points, and it was found that the Balanced Development Strategy is the best choice as it largely corresponds to the development aims and elements of development. 29
Figure 3.5, The comprehensive vision for tourism development in Alexandria till 2050 56
Expected tourism till 2017 It was expected that the number of tourists will reach 822 thousand tourists in the year 2017, which was expected in the previous strategic plan. So far, there is no need to establish more new hotels in order not to decrease the room occupancy.
Type of tourism Alexandria
Monumental, cultural, religious In near future significantly
Leisure In near future significantly
Conferences and incentives In near future significantly but needs support of facilities & utilities
Medical In medium & far future moderately subjected to the removal of pollution factors
In near future means the fourth 5 year plan 1997-2002, in medium and far future means the three 5 year plans till 2017
Table 3.2, Expected types of tourism to be attracted in Alexandria – strategic plan for 202257
56 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region – edited and translated by the researcher. 30 3.1.4 Urban Tourism in Alexandria The strategic plan of 2022 gave a general notion about the definition of the term of urban tourism as following: The urban areas which were prepared for the living and working of people, according to what these areas have of temptations, these areas receive a large number of tourists. This does not apply only on the cities which include summer resorts or winter resorts or any other temptations as monuments or museums or palaces and old universities, but also on the cities which have been dependently important tourist destination as London in UK, San Francesco in US and Alexandria in Egypt.
Tourism has an important role in urban areas even if tourism industry is not a leading industry and was majored by commercial, industrial and residential functions. However, cities and urban centers have diverse uses which introduce cultural, historical, leisure, amusement, night life, commercial shops and boutiques appearances, which tourists easily engaged in, till tourists become a temporary part of the community and its traditional fabric, therefore, tourists needs from accommodation, leisure and gastronomic are easily absorbed from the services which introduced to the local community. Urban areas present services and facilities which serve its population and fit their needs, while the existence of tourists affect urban areas, therefore many problems appear in urban tourism development as: • The competition between the hotel housing (luxury accommodation) and normal housing, which consequents the competition to get land especially in the heart of the city to establish touristic and hotel buildings which consequent the rise in land prices. • More pressure on traffic especially at the places with touristic temptations, terminal stations and ports (sea or air ports) which reflects pressure on services and employment. • More pressure on utilities and infrastructure networks.
Well, it is clear that the notion of urban tourism is new in Alexandria and needs to develop in order to carry on the existing competition between cities all over the world, but it could be a good start to recognize urban tourism.
3.1.5 Conclusion The two strategic plans for Alexandria have been discussed previously as they were mentioned in the strategic planning reports. Strategic plan for 2017, this plan did not give any attention to urban tourism as it was concerned about the tri-polar-regional strategic system, 1) The development of the existing urban cluster in the east, 2) The development of the new city of Borg ElArab and the suggested urban extension towards the west, 3) The development of the suggested urban cluster at the far south of the governorate. Also, it was concerned about hotel capacity and the expected number of tourists till 2017 as a base for the sector of tourism development, meanwhile giving some general recommendations to develop the tourism sector in Alexandria.
Strategic plan for 2022, this plan gave more attention to tourism in details more than the previous one, all about historical, monumental, cultural and coastal resources and constraints that Alexandria enjoys. Meanwhile, the plan included the idea of urban tourism as a pushing power of tourism in the city, which is totally different than the traditional style of tourism planning that has been followed during the last three decades for Alexandria. Not only dealing with the expected number of tourists and hotels capacity in order to plan some projects to serve future
57 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region – edited and translated by the researcher. 31 tourism in the city but also proposing different alternative to serve the tourism development in Alexandria and evaluating those alternatives to find the most suitable plan.
The opportunities for urban tourism to develop in Alexandria are bigger because of two reasons, first it’s a virgin land for urban tourism which means the planned start will be more efficient than other existing destinations, second Alexandria exists in a developing country which opens opportunities of investments and development more than developed countries as mentioned in the literature review (cheap labor, land, …etc.).
3.2 Overview on Barcelona 3.2.1 History Barcelona was founded by the Romans, and used to be an agricultural settlement. After being ruled by the Visigoths and then the Moorish Caliphate of Cordoba, Barcelona grew to be the central port for extensive Mediterranean trades and commerce during the rule of the Christians around 9th Century. Since then, it has continued to maintain the prosperity of its maritime trade.
Barcelona grew to be a dense medieval city but was unable to expand beyond its medieval walls because of military restrictions that were imposed in 1714 after the war of Spanish Succession. It was not until the Industrial Revolution that Barcelona grew to be an important location for industries in Spain, where many textile and heavy engineering industries were set up in the region. Then in 1854, the city first expansion came about after the restrictions from the war were removed.
The 1929 Barcelona world exhibition led to a new burst of urban growth in the city. Immigrants fled to Barcelona and many new shanty developments came around. During the Spanish civil war (1936-1939) and during early 1940s, the city saw very limited urban growth. Industrialization picked up after 1945 and in the late 1940s and 1950s, Barcelona grew to be an important automobile manufacturer.
It was only after the Franco years that Barcelona as a part of Catalonia could start its autonomous governing, and the city grew at a much faster rate. From the 1950s to the end of Franco’s rule in 1975, Barcelona did not have any autonomous governing body and any economic plan that existed; this period was limited to the management of immediate and short term problems. As a result, Barcelona economy saw very limited economic growth during Franco’s rule.
The idea of the “festivalization” as a method of growth was first introduced in Barcelona through the 1976 General Metropolitan Plan. It was in this plan that Barcelona aimed to host several international festival and functions to generate the much-needed investments in infrastructure to enable Barcelona’s economy to grow. The 1992 Olympics was arguably the major event which changed the physical and non-physical infrastructures of Barcelona as it prepares to continue its economic growth in the 21st century. The Games had brought significant positive impacts in the tourism sector of Barcelona, mainly through the numerous publicity that gained by hosting the Olympic Games.
3.2.2 Location The Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR) is located in the Catalonia region of Spain. The BMR is one of the largest metropolitan regions in Europe after London, Paris, Randstadt, Ruhr and Madrid. Among all the European cities, Barcelona has one of the highest living standards and is considered as one of the most prosperous cities in
32 Europe. As of 2003, the BMR has an area of 3,237 square km with a total population of 4,618,257. The municipality of Barcelona itself has 1,582,738 people living in an area of 97.6 square km. In 2001, the annual GDP per capita in the region was 19,309 Euro. The BMR now generates about 14% of the total Spanish GDP, with its population making up 11% of the total Spanish population.58
Figure 3.6, Map represents the Regions of Spain, Catalonia is the 9th region.59
The municipality of Barcelona is governed by the City Council of Barcelona. The Barcelona municipality is made up of 10 main districts, which are shown in the next figure. The city council of Barcelona is in charge of overseeing the smooth running of the city public administration, as well as planning the future direction of growth of Barcelona.
Figure 3.7, The map shows the ten districts of Barcelona. 60
58 Barcelona Metropolitan Economic Strategy, Page 1, July 2004 Gundy Cahyadi and Scott TenBrink, Global Urban Development, Prague, Czech Republic (http://www.globalurban.org/GUD%20Barcelona%20MES%20Report.pdf) 59 http://www.map‐of‐spain.co.uk/ 33 3.2.3 Tourism, urban development and strategic plans in Barcelona Tourism in Barcelona Barcelona has established itself as one of the main urban tourism destinations in Europe. The Catalan capital has every attraction for weekend breaks and three or more day’s visits. For some years now, holidaymakers have accounted for about 50% of visitors to the city, a similar figure to business trips, which have traditionally been Barcelona’s strongest visitor segment. This makes the city the ideal place for a short break. • Heritage and culture Culture is one of Barcelona’s main attractions and makes the city an urban tourism destination par excellence. The modernist legacy of the architectural treasure, and the paintings from the Catalan Romanesque period, are another major attraction which the city combines with prestigious musical performances and theatre.
Barcelona has more than 50 museums and many art galleries stage, permanent and temporary exhibitions. The recently extended Museu Picasso; the Fundació Joan Miró; the National Art Museum of Catalonia-MNAC; the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art-MACBA; CaixaForum, housed in an old art-nouveau factory; or the Fundació Antoni Tàpies are must-see landmarks which trace culture throughout the ages. Also Barcelona is the only city in the world with nine buildings which are UNESCO World Heritage. 61
Music in Barcelona, all the musical genres can be enjoyed in the city, from classical to contemporary music, from ethnic music to jazz. Modern concert venues −which are also landmark buildings− such as l’Auditori, the Palau de la Música and the Gran Teatre del Liceu offer prestigious performances throughout the year plus theatre-going is another activity that enlivens the cultural life of Barcelona. • Mediterranean capital Since Barcelona was founded over 2000 years ago it has pursued its vocation as a great Mediterranean metropolis. With its privileged location on the Iberian Peninsula, between the sea and the mountains, it is the cultural and administrative capital of Catalonia and the traditional gateway to Spain. 62 • Shopping tourism Shopping in Barcelona, the city has its own unique shops where you will find quality goods, as well as top international designer names. Barcelona is the leading Spanish city in terms of sales to tourists from abroad, with 22% of credit-card purchases in Spain, and the city accounts for almost 21% of the country’s ATM withdrawals. 63 • Meetings tourism Barcelona is one of Europe’s favorite destinations for all kinds of scientific and business meetings: congresses, conventions, product presentations and incentive trips. Barcelona has the infrastructures for hosting such events: a trade-fair site with 200,000 m2, including the Barcelona Conference Centre; the Palau Sant Jordi, the jewel of the 1992 Olympic Games. And since November 2004 the city has had a new Convention Centre (the CCIB), which can
60 Barcelona Metropolitan Economic Strategy, Page 4, July 2004 Gundy Cahyadi and Scott TenBrink, Global Urban Development, Prague, Czech Republic (http://www.globalurban.org/GUD%20Barcelona%20MES%20Report.pdf) 61 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 62 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 63 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 34 host up to 15,000 people. Meanwhile, Barcelona has been chosen as the headquarters of the Unió Pel Mediterrani (UPM-The Union for the Mediterranean).64 • Cruise Harbour Barcelona has one of the most popular ports for cruise ships as well as for shipping companies. According to Lloyd’s Cruise International, Barcelona is the 1st cruise harbor in Europe and Mediterranean and 4th in the world. 65 • A city on top form Besides these outstanding events, the city’s annual sporting calendar includes many competitions of international scope. This factor, together with Barcelona’s renowned as a tourism magnet, has led to the creation of the Barcelona Sports programme, geared to increasing the number of fans who attend major sporting competitions held in the city. This programme focuses particularly on international sporting events held in Barcelona.66 • Mediterranean Cuisine The city lives up to its Mediterranean setting with its Catalan cuisine. The interest in gastronomy in Barcelona is reflected in a long and list of restaurants, some of them awarded Michelin stars, which suit the most varied tastes: local Catalan cuisine, international cuisine, exotic food, plus tapas and appetizers or the world-famous cava. Also, all the local know-how and flavors, all the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, also includes prestigious wines. 67 • Parks tourism Barcelona contains 68 municipal parks, divided into 12 historic parks, 5 thematic (botanical) parks, 45 urban parks and 6 forest parks. They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The urban parks alone cover 10% of the city. The largest park in Barcelona is the park of Montjuïc.68 • Beach tourism Barcelona is listed first among the Top 10 Beach Cities in the world. Barcelona contains seven beaches, along 4.5 km of coastline. Beaches like, Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches, which are the largest, oldest and the most frequented beaches in Barcelona, also the beaches of Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant, which were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. Barceloneta beach gained status as the best urban beach in the World and total third best beach in the World.69
Urban development plans in Barcelona I would start with the Spanish transition to democracy which started 1975, as the 1953 District Plan and the 1966 Master Plan were plans which directed for immediate adaptation of the changing and use, and the need for more human resources without any future directions. As in 1970 the poor economic condition encouraged the local authority to plan the 1992 Olympics as a way to revive the city of Barcelona, by which brings a great deal of investments in infrastructure which would last even after the end of the Olympics.
64 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 65 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 66 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 67 Barcelona Turisme press file 2010 (http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684‐453‐pdf/PRESS%20FILE%20ANGL%C3%88S.pdf) 68 Parks in Barcelona (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Parks) 69 Beaches in Barcelona (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Parks) 35 In 1976, a general Metropolitan Plan was proposed by the local government, as one of the keys of this plan was the idea of hosting festivals to attract investments. Between 1986 and 1993, the total direct investments associated to the 1992 Olympics reached more than 8 billion US dollars in overall construction, the major areas being developed a) road and transportation infrastructure, b) housing, offices and commercial places, c) telecommunication services, d) hotel establishments, e) sports facilities, and f) environmental infrastructures. All the mentioned areas paved the road to many other economic activities and one of these activities is tourism development.
The main results of that plan, which is extremely significant till now were the Olympic village, the Olympic zones of the Montjuic, Diagonal, Vall d’Hebron, and the creation of the ring roads of Barcelona. These projects were a major transformation of the landscape of Barcelona because it brought new opportunities in tourism with the new beaches and waterfronts.70 While it should be mentioned that, the Olympic Games made an enormous shift in the city’s urban development which was the basics for several future developments in the BMR so far.
Figure 3.8, Map for 1986-1993 main projects 71
70 Barcelona Metropolitan Economic Strategy, Page 7, July 2004 Gundy Cahyadi and Scott TenBrink, Global Urban Development, Prague, Czech Republic (http://www.globalurban.org/GUD%20Barcelona%20MES%20Report.pdf) 71 (http://w20.bcn.cat/Guiamap/Default_en.aspx#) 36 Strategic plans The suburbanization in Barcelona had started in the 1980s through many different regional government agencies (Institut Catala del Sol and Consorci de la Zona Franca). The strategic metropolitan plans for Barcelona did not stop at the Olympic Games plan 1992, but followed by the 1990 as the first strategic plan of the city, while a second revised plan was completed in 1994 and the third plan also approved in 1999. In 2002, the strategic metropolitan plan of Barcelona was initiated extending the efforts made in the three previous strategic plans for the city to the whole metropolitan region with the desire to promote economic growth and sustainability to the entire BMR. The plan mainly based on 5 basic philosophies, 1) cooperation among private and public authorities, 2) public participation, 3) good leadership, 4) flexibility, 5) consensus.72
1- Barcelona 1st Economic and Social Strategic Metropolitan Plan 2000 73 The report of the 1st strategic plan of Barcelona is divided into 3 main parts as following: I. Joint declaration by the institutions represented by the Executive Committee of the Plan. II. Implementing the Plan. The report of Barcelona strategic plan managed to study and elaborate on the concepts and benefits of the strategic plan, organizing and launching the plan, preparing the stages of the strategic plan which worked out in five stages during the period from April 1988 to February 1990, also using backup activities in order to present and promote the strategic plan to the public and public organizations which was achieved by three technical conferences and an exhibition. The strategic plan contents consist of: 1 general objective, 3 strategic plan lines, 9 specific objectives, 13 sub-objectives and 59 measures. While from the analysis of the urban environment and diagnostic of Barcelona, three changes in the urban environment could be foreseen, a) Redefinition of the city after the Olympic Games had been held, b) Realignment of the city as a result of the consolidation of the Single European Market and more recent events in Europe, and c) The process of post-crisis adaption. The next figure emphasizes the changes that occurred before and after the Olympic Games 1992.
72 Barcelona Metropolitan Economic Strategy, Page 14 & 15, July 2004 Gundy Cahyadi and Scott TenBrink, Global Urban Development, Prague, Czech Republic (http://www.globalurban.org/GUD%20Barcelona%20MES%20Report.pdf) 73 http://www.pemb.cat/en/?post_type=document&p=4875 37
Figure 3.9, Map of Barcelona before 1992 Plan74
Figure 3.10, Map of Barcelona after 1992 Plan 75
74 http://www.pemb.cat/en/?post_type=document&p=4875 75 http://www.pemb.cat/en/?post_type=document&p=4875 38 Thus, almost all the projects which have done in Barcelona served urban tourism directly or indirectly, the city was opened from different sites, such as, project 1 the airport extension allowed to accommodate more tourists, projects 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 increased the city’s accessibility, projects 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18 increased the tourism activities in the city, and projects 19, 20, 21 increased the meetings and conferences held in the city.
III. The Barcelona 2000: Economic and Social Strategic Plan. The overall aim is: To consolidate Barcelona as a go-head European metropolis exerting an Influence over the macro-region in which it is geographically located; with a modern quality of lift; socially balanced and deeply rooted in Mediterranean culture. This aim constitutes one of the elements in the model for the city to which it hopes to build over the course of the next few years, with three strategic lines of action, line 1) to shape Barcelona as one of the leading centers of the macro-region, line 2) improving people’s quality of life and progress, line 3) promoting industry and advanced business services.
2- Barcelona 2nd Economic and Social Strategic Metropolitan Plan 2000 76 This Plan was approved by the General Council at a meeting held in Barcelona City Council on 30 November 1994. The general objective of the plan is to further the integration of the economic area of Barcelona into the international economy in order to guarantee its development in terms of quality of life and economic and social progress. The potential of the renewed city, a consequence of action carried out before and during the period of the 1st plan together with the opportunities that the globalization of the economy can offer, were decisive elements in this new agreement, which represents the objective of the 2nd plan.
The 1st plan of Barcelona started a route that permitted a momentous transformation of the physiognomy of Barcelona, providing the city with the infrastructures that befit an European metropolis, and as far as the route exists, the maximum use should be made of all that has been done with the purpose of advancing towards a more open and more dynamic Barcelona in a better position internationally. A city of quality in goods and services, of quality to live, work and study in, or visit, that which ultimately should be expected of the 2nd Strategic Plan of Barcelona 2000.
The report of the 2nd strategic plan was divided into five main parts as following: I. The Domains of Barcelona The first part dealt with the domains of Barcelona as for example an international airport or port require domains that cannot coincide with the city limits, therefore, it’s appropriate to locate the various limits of Barcelona. II. From the first to the second Strategic Plan of Barcelona 2000 This phase was concerned to evaluate what have been done by three types of evaluation carried between May and September 1992. 1) Evaluation of the Plan, the question was to arrive at a synthesis that allowed the placing of each of the measures into four groups depending on their degree of introduction: measures already completed or being introduced, measures not completed that had lost their validity, measures not introduced but still valid and new measures that were necessary to anticipate. 2) Evaluation of the city,
76 http://www.pemb.cat/en/?document=barcelona‐2000‐ii‐economic‐and‐social‐strategic‐plan 39 This was the analysis of whether the city, considered globally, was advancing towards the objectives laid out in the first plan, or not. This implied a more unified view in relation to the initial diagnosis made in 1988, also a more directed view. For this reason the evaluation was made taking as its subject each of the substantive parts of the objective of the plan. The question was whether Barcelona had consolidated itself as: - A metropolis - An European metropolis with influence in the macro-region - A dynamic European metropolis - A dynamic European metropolis with a modern quality of life - A dynamic European metropolis with modern quality of life and socially balanced 3) Evaluation of the milieu.
III. The Basic Elements of the II Strategic Plan These elements are based on the potential of Barcelona were: the consolidation of the trend towards a new world order, the new role that cities may have in the new world scenarios and the opportunities for Barcelona after the 1st plan, and the scenarios that the citizens of Barcelona find desirable.
IV. The II Strategic Economic and Social Plan Barcelona 2000 The objective of the plan as proposed by the Executive Committee “the accentuation of the integration of the Barcelona area into the international economy with the purpose of assuring its growth in terms of economic and social progress and advances in the quality of life”. Barcelona had changed its physiognomy and its dimension in the course from a lineal design around diagonal to a circular form, which made a radical transformation of its relation and connection to the totality of its area.
Starting from the general objective the 2nd strategic plan structured the following elements: • Five strategic lines 1- To assist the process of adaptation of the economic sectors of the Barcelona area to the requirements of the international economy. 2- The territorial dimension of Barcelona underscores the need to give action taken the dimension of this geographical environment. 3- Advancing proposals directed towards the generation of a positive response to new demands for social integration by greater integration of young people into the society and the anticipation of the problems of immigration as a growing phenomenon. The first three strategic lines constitute the supporting surfaces of a hypothetical airplane that could symbolize the image of the 2nd plan of Barcelona, while the fourth strategic line would be the airplane’s body, its fuselage.
4- An attempt is made to strengthen a series of economic activities which could assure the presence of the city in those international fields of references. Logistics, activities related to information infrastructures and sectors related to health are considered three key sectors in this line. 5- The situating of the Barcelona area in the international economy, would be, as is logical, the rudder of the airplane.
40 • Seventeen sub-objectives, some of them could be mentioned below: - Reinforce training and technology structures - Improve the efficiency of public and private services in the city - Integrate the potential of young people - Improve the attractions of the city - Maintenance of the importance of industrial productive activity • Sixty-eight measures
V. Implementation of the II Strategic Plan The process of implementing the plan, has been the principle task, is without doubt the most complex part because of three reasons. On one hand, the complexity of the measures, and on other hand, the plan as such does not have any kind of authority over the process of applying the measures. Also, because of the difficulty in obtaining reliable elements for judgment, indicators, that permits an objective monitoring of the development of the measures. So far, in accordance to the principles of quality management and with two focal points the plan should: a) guarantee the efficient implementation of the measures that make up the 2nd plan, b) guarantee the quality of the activities and the sectors related to the different measures of the plan, with the purpose of contributing towards reinforcing the mission of quality in the city.
3- Barcelona 3rd Strategic Metropolitan Plan 1999 – 2005 77 Declaration of the member institutions of the Executive Committee of the Barcelona Economic and Social Strategic Plan Association was in Barcelona the 18th of May, 1999.
Figure 3.11, Mission proposal for strategic plan 1999 - 2005 78
The third strategic plan of Barcelona established five strategic lines to follow, the five strategic lines are: − Line 1: To continue to advance in positioning the Barcelona Metropolitan Region as one of the most active and sustainable urban areas of the European Union. − Line 2: To prioritize policies that stimulates an increase in the occupation rate.
77 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/III_Estrategic_Plan.pdf) 78 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/III_Estrategic_Plan.pdf) 41 − Line 3: Facilitate evolution towards the city of knowledge promoting new sectors of activity, within a framework of efficiency and participation, in order to ensure a stable quality of life and progress for its citizens. − Line 4: To ensure the social cohesion of the citizens by deepening the participative culture of the city and creating the spaces for participation that are necessary. − Line 5: To have a significant role in the growth of Europe and to develop a specific position, within Spain and especially abroad, with the Mediterranean and with Latin America, as a multiplying factor of the city’s internal attraction. The measures contained within these five lines can constitute, in some cases, transversal action groups that do no more than define a series of sub-models implicit in the 3rd strategic Plan. • The connected city • The open enterprising city • A region of cities • A city for people
4- Barcelona Strategic Metropolitan Plan 2006 – 2010 79 Diagnosis of the Plan’s operational capacity This paper aims to serve as a guide to facilitate the debate of the highest authorities of the Metropolitan strategic Plan of Barcelona regarding the Plan itself. Two and a half years of experience since its approval seem to have given enough of a perspective to assess with three annexes to facilitate the assessment (annex a, b &c). 1. The current validity of the objectives of the 1st SMPB (Strategic Metropolitan Plan of Barcelona) and the validity of it as an instrument to conduct the major future lines of the MAB and as a decision-making tool. 2. The methodological and organizational elements of the Plan.
The 2010 plan suggested that, the possible shift from a first Plan to the formulation of a second Plan does not make much sense, as there are no clear-cut breaks in trend. Yet at the same time, continuing to implement the Plan without making changes to improve its effectiveness would also be impractical. As a result, and bearing in mind: a) The current influence of the major underlying trends of the milieu; b) The constant changes that such trends produce in different territorial areas; c) The evolution of the MAB over the past few years and the effects of the implementation of some of the main measures set forth by the 1st SMPB; d) The growing need for strategic territorial planning, in conjunction with urban and environmental planning; e) The need to reformulate a vision and more precise and measurable objectives, in keeping with the schemes of global cooperation / competitiveness. Therefore, the plan proposed that, moving towards a new understanding of the MAB’s strategic planning process that reconsiders: • A less temporal scope than that of a 1st or 2nd Plan, according to the guidelines of the SMPB. • Rethinking the vision-objectives-measures-projects scheme, placing greater emphasis on the projects and their impact throughout the entire Area and the different municipalities.
79 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/PEMB_2006‐2010_en_angles.pdf) 42 • Rethinking the organizational scheme so as to reinforce shared leadership and operational capacity.
Nevertheless, the strategic plan team’s experience has revealed several dysfunctions that need to be mitigated and solved. Below are what believe to be the three most important problems: A. Firstly, the lack of a clear and precise line of thought that begins with the initial idea and follows through to the specific project with a budget and leadership. B. Secondly, the mayors and leaders of the metropolitan region have not yet actively taken on the Plan. In other words, there is no decisive leadership for the different projects and objectives with a clear and comprehensible message for the people. C. Finally, there are gaps in the shared leadership among the representatives of the public sectors and those of the social and economic institutions.
The solution of these problems might call for some reorganization of the Plan’s flow chart, with the following objectives: • Guarantee the leadership and participation of the metropolitan mayors • Guarantee the shared leadership with the economic and social institutions • Provide each of the projects with a responsible leader • Improve the efficiency of the executive bodies (Delegate Committee) • Preserve the citizen participation body (General Council) • Improve the workings of the two hubs: Prospective and Strategy • Incorporate relational mechanisms with the 2nd metropolitan ring, and with Catalonia and the macro-region.
Vision for 2006/2010, objectives and projects The Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB) is full of urban planning projects and constructions that lack any sort of collective vision of the metropolitan project. The possible rethinking of the vision ought to lean towards more precise sorts of issues that are more comprehensible for the people. The medium-term vision ought to be complemented with annual plans of action.
Figure 3.12, The current and 2006/2010 vision of SMPB 80
80 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/PEMB_2006‐2010_en_angles.pdf) 43 The strategic plan of Barcelona 1st phase held 26 different objectives while the 2006/2010 plan holds only four main objectives which could be listed as below: 1- Innovate knowledge and its availability 2- New ways of doing business with the appropriate infrastructures 3- Coexistence 2020 4- Foster the changes
5- Barcelona Strategic Metropolitan Plan 2011 till 2020 (Barcelona vision 2020) 81 The year 2009 was called the ‘pivotal’ year. The year of the crisis, bringing threats but also opportunities and Barcelona should not rest on its laurels. Even with crisis Barcelona succeeded to analyze in full detail the 52 projects which put under way. These projects when added to the 54 already introduced over the last five years bring us a very concrete idea of why Barcelona has become consolidated as the fourth-best European city for doing business, the first in quality of life, and the city with the most effective promotion abroad.
Figure 3.13, Map of strategic projects in the 2010 prospectus82
81 (http://www.pemb.cat/PDF/memoriaPEMB2009en.pdf) page 7 ‐ http://www.pemb.cat/en/default.aspx 44 Figure 3.14, The projects in the 2010 prospectus 83
The projects are of every kind. For example, projects that secures and promotes the metropolitan space of Barcelona so it can welcome new companies and investments. These range from the now well consolidated 22@Barcelona district to initiatives like La Sagrera, Alba Park in Cerdanyola, the Viladecans business center, the new growth areas in El Prat de Llobregat, and new projects linked to the Zona Franca area. The map of strategic projects, updated every year, demonstrates the vitality of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.
Projects which have been completed during the year or are already in their final phase are transferred to the list of operational projects. This allows it to be verified whether over time, projects observed at earlier stages have in fact been completed as planned. In 2009, seven projects were added to the list of operational projects. Together with the projects already consolidated in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, this makes a total of fifty-four strategic projects in the territory which are already up and running, or are about to be so shortly.
The plan thought also through the Local strategic projects which should be implemented in Barcelona, the list included fourteen local strategic projects, such as Illa Central, Integral improvement of the centre of Cstelldefels, Integral plan for the River Sec, Project for fluvial restoration at Corbera de Llobregat and Cèntric Espai Cultural.
According to the projects in the previous plan, the projects are concentrated more in the most touristic zone of the city as marked by the black ring, while some efforts is being done to include the suburban area of Barcelona in the plan. Then derived the eastern corner of the diagonal near Sant Adrià de Besòs, where the innovation district of 22@Barcelona as marked by the red ring. These projects pave the road to urban tourism development through
82 (http://www.pemb.cat/PDF/memoriaPEMB2009en.pdf) page 24 ‐ http://www.pemb.cat/en/default.aspx 83 (http://www.pemb.cat/PDF/memoriaPEMB2009en.pdf) page 24 ‐ http://www.pemb.cat/en/default.aspx 45 providing the sufficient and essential infrastructures to accommodate future increase in tourists and maintain the existing ones.
Moreover, there was a strategic plan done by the Turism de Barcelona Consortium but once before the Turisme de Barcelona emerged the strategic plan for tourism in 2010, under the name of “Turisme BCN 2015” (which will be included in the appendix). Besides, the Turisme de Barcelona used to handle an annual report about tourism in the city, and how tourism in Barcelona could be developed.84
3.2.4 Urban Tourism in Barcelona Barcelona as a leading destination in urban tourism had developed during the last three decades, establishing as one of the main urban tourism destination in Europe and the world. Being the Catalan and the Mediterranean capital and promoting these ideas attracting weekend breaks and overnight stays. Meanwhile, business trips have been traditionally the strongest visitor segment of Barcelona before and after the Olympic Games. Barcelona is the world’s third most popular congress city, according to the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), and the sixth city in the world convention tourism, according to the Union of International Associations (UIA).
While according to the Daily Telegraph, Barcelona is the world’s top urban tourism destination of 2003, culture is one of the main attractions, beach, harbor, and sea cruises all that made Barcelona a successful urban tourism destination. Moreover, The architecture treasure of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Also, the beautiful paintings from the Catalan Romanesque period are another major attraction which if combined with musical performances and theaters drew a creative urban portrait.
Adding to that, Barcelona’s ports with cruise lines, and the ferry terminals within easy access to the city, which allow passengers to enjoy the city’s urban sky line view and contours starting from the Olympic Games park at the south and ending by the Forum in the north. All these factors had created the best urban atmosphere for a visitor to enjoy and feel it.
3.2.5 Conclusion Even if the previous mentioned strategic plans and the tourism plan for Barcelona did not use the expression “Urban Tourism” that much but everything was serving this idea by all the potentials that Barcelona has. No one can regret the Olympic Games benefits that opened a whole city to experience and discover its urban potentials, also the infrastructure and investments done was huge (around one billion pesetas at that time).
The strategic plans seem to be more practical and objective starting from the main plan objective passing through the sub-objectives ending by the measures. The structure was clear, organized which represents the long experience gained by dealing with the notion of urban tourism. Sports, especially football, have a wide fame in Barcelona which was not clear in most of the strategic plans of the city maybe because the city’s infrastructure still can accommodate more sports activities in the coming decades. Meanwhile, the importance of Barcelona as a Mediterranean destination was clear in the hierarchy of location, on the local, national, European and international levels.
84 (http://www.turisme2015bcn.cat/T2015WEB/Que‐es/_Sb46WFTR8WoXPZuwwMDEOVRheSI8ok8pTGnEvydCtU8) 46 While, projects were only included in the first and the last strategic plans while the in between plans were only an extension and continuation of the projects, objectives and ideas. Meanwhile, the projects introduced worked as the foundations for the objectives that should be achieved by the strategic lines, objectives and sub-objectives. Also, the assessment policy which is followed to stand up to the new problems and challenges, and keep the strategic lines in the correct path without deviation from the main objectives, is essential and successful. This assessment was missing in the Egyptian case which may cause random development and strategies which sometimes define new objectives deviated away from the main aims.
As a final conclusion for both cities, Alexandria and Barcelona have the characteristics that mentioned by Blank in the literature review, characteristics which allow both cities to be an urban tourism destination: - Location of high populations, which attract high numbers of tourists who are visiting friends and relatives. - Major travel nodes that serve as gateways or transfer points to other destinations. - Focal points for commerce, industry and finance. - Harbour concentrations of people services such as education, administration centre, health and others. - Places that offer a wide variety of cultural, artistic and recreational experiences. 85
Alexandria and Barcelona enjoy these characteristics. Alexandria is willing to establish a successful urban tourism experience which allows it to compete in the international tourism market.
85 Hairul Ismail, Tom Baum & Jithendran Kokranikkal, page 1 to 4, The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Urban Tourism in Developing Countries: A case of Malaysia (http://www.wisatamelayu.com/en/article.php?a=QmdGL3c%3D=) 47 Chapter 4: Urban Analysis results 4.1 Introduction This chapter will deal with the analysis results which have been done through the different stages of the research with the data and information that was available during the research period.
4.1.1 Location analysis SWOT City Geographical location
• Proximity to Europe and Arab countries • Strategic location on the Mediterranean Alexandria • The long lasting summer that begins in April and lasts in October with a very mild winter • Long coastline, special cuisine of seafood which grow only in this area of the Mediterranean sea • Proximity to Cairo (220 km, 3 hrs.)
Strengths • Bordering city increases cross-border cooperation between French and Spanish cities
• Access to the sea and nice weather almost most of the year time, & well connected to Madrid Barcelona • Close to Pyrenees & Collserola mountains, with beautiful views to the Mediterranean sea • Strong regional identity of Catalonia
Alexandria • Sometimes very hot weather because of the warm wind blowing from the western desert
• Difficult connection with north of Europe Barcelona • Imbalance in the occupation of the territory Weaknesses
• Imbalance between Barcelona & rest of the region
Alexandria • Connection between 3 different continents Africa, Asia and Europe
• The relationship with the Mediterranean countries & continental Europe ties Barcelona
Opportuni • Commercial & tourism opportunities • Degradation of the natural environment Alexandria • Change of the coastline due to waves of erosion and sedimentation
Threats Barcelona • Increasing decentralization which threat the separation of the region
Table 4.1, SWOT Analysis for the geographical location for Alexandria and Barcelona
4.1.2 Demographics The next figure shows the evolution of population in both Alexandria governorate and BMR. From the figure, both populations increased steadily during the period between 1966 and 2011, while the BMR population was stabilized from the period between 1981 and 1996, as shown, because Barcelona had lost about 250 thousand inhabitants due to suburbanization after the city reached its saturation point in the 1970s.86
86 Jordi Bayona i Carrasco & Fernando Gil Alonso, Análisis demográfico de las necesidades de vivienda en España, 2005‐2015, Has international immigration counteracted suburbanization? Differences in residential mobility patterns between national and foreign populations within the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (1998‐2007). 48 Then between 2007 and 2011, the 2008 crisis affected Barcelona as all Spain but because of the good policies that the Catalan government followed, the city started to attract more inhabitants again. While Alexandria population increased steadily with some interpretations of internal migrations going back and forward, during the same period 1986 to 2011, from the neighboring towns and villages, as Alexandria is the second biggest city in Egypt with concentrated investments, industry and opportunities to work.
Figure 4.1, Population evolution between 1966 & 2011 in Alexandria governorate and BMR
4.1.3 Climate encompasses When comparing both the temperature in Alexandria and Barcelona, it was not surprising the similarities that both cities have, because both enjoys the good and warm Mediterranean climate which is considered a good asset for development all over the year, meanwhile, as an essential element for tourist attraction, where tourists can enjoy travelling and spending time on beaches, urban atmosphere and city’s culture.
Figure 4.2, Climate data for Alexandria and Barclona over the year
49 Whether, Barcelona has an average colder weather than Alexandria which indicates that Alexandria maybe more attractive than Barcelona, practically that is not true because as will be discussed later Barcelona has more number of tourists than Alexandria.
Figure 4.3, Amount of rain perciption in milimeters in Alexandria and Barcelona
While the difference in rain amount is much significant, from the previous figure, it seems that Alexandria does not receive any rain for almost half the year while it receives rain in winter and autumn only. In the case of Barcelona amount of rain is much more all over the year. In total, Alexandria receives about 201 mm per year while Barcelona receives 640 mm per year which means that Barcelona receives more than triple what Alexandria receives.
4.2 Strategic planning SWOT City Urban development, utilities, services & infrastructure
• Two international airports • Existing cultural and heritage buildings to promote urban tourism Alexandria • Diversity of public and private transportation in Alexandria • Pedestrian tunnels exist all over the Geish Road (Cornish) • Urban renewal projects & land availability around Lake Marriout & in South Alexandria
Strengths • Barcelona will boast an extensive motorway network and is a hub of high-speed rail, particularly
that which will link France with Spain. Barcelona • Barcelona is the 16th most "livable city" in the world according to lifestyle magazine Monocle • High speed linking Madrid with Barcelona
50 • New urban processes of unregulated construction and real-estate speculation • Heavy buildings taking over the European 18th & 19th century center • Overdevelopment along the coast of Alexandria in parallel with urban sprawl & damage to the Alexandria landscape as well as environmental pollution • No biking service & Weak cluster behavior of transport
Weaknesses • Water pollution which affects the tourism investments circumstances
• The mountain range of Collserola may limit further development expansions of the city Barcelona • Pollution produced from the port (air, land and water) • Development of the East Port, an avant-grade project for the waterfront with its value in terms of territorial & cultural development, economic & productive Alexandria • The development of the railway networks for greater ease of access & traffic flow • Planning of the high speed Cairo-Alexandria train Opportunities
Barcelona • The successful strategic planning gives the city opportunities for success and rejuvenation
• The negative environment of the coast, of the ground, water & air • The development of large business centers, malls & leisure facilities in the outskirt to east & south Alexandria • Long term projects take long time, may affect areas specially projects in strategic locations • Development threaten the agriculture lands around the city from the east and south directions Threats • Unplanned & unsustainable development & activities Barcelona • Water Pollution which may affect beach tourism in the city
Table 4.2, SWOT Analysis for Urban development, utilities, services & infrastructure of Alexandria and Barcelona
4.3 Urban tourism 4.3.1 Hotels and room occupancy
3
2
1
Figure 4.4, Number of rooms in Alexandria and Barcelona
51 It is important to study each city’s capacity (hotels & rooms) in order to know how many tourists a city can accommodate, which make a strong basis for the promoting strategies. However, the gap between the capacity of Barcelona and Alexandria is pretty obvious as shown in the previous figure.
The previous figure shows the number of rooms of Alexandria and Barcelona in the last two decades. On one hand, in Alexandria during the period from 1992 till 2002 the number of rooms was stable almost a line shaped, which if linked with the next figure (the percentage of rooms occupancy), indicates that there is no urgent demand to establish new rooms as the occupancy of the rooms did not increase more than 58% (peak point) and that was in 2001 due to the official opening of the Alexandria Bibliotheca.
On the other hand, in Barcelona the number of rooms perceived three stages of increase, the first stage from 1990 till 1998 where the number of rooms were increasing till the year of 1994 then maintained its position till 1998, that stagnation was due to the decrease then the stability of rooms occupancy which gave an alert to not establish new rooms which helped to mainatain this position till the next stage. The second stage, the rooms started to increase steadly from the year 1998 till 2006, as the rooms occupancy incresed a little bit then decreased and almost maintained its position untill 2007, then the third stage rooms were increasing with a rate less than in the second stage, while due to the crises the projects which started before the crises were continuing to finish as the rooms occupancy decreased a little more after 2007, so far by the end of 2010 it started to increase again.
Figure 4.5, Percentage of rooms occupancy in Alexandria and Barcelona
However, the next figure shows the differences between the number of hotels in Alexandria and Barcelona. In Alexandria the number of hotels decreased during the last two decades from 1990 till 2004 from 55 hotels to 50 hotels only, with the decrease in rooms occupancy, this may indicate that tourists prefer to spend one day only in the city which decreased the demand to sleep in a hotel. While in Barcelona the case is totally different as the number of hotels increased from 118 hotels in 1990 to 328 in 2010, with the increasing and sometimes stable number of tourists who spend more than one day in the city with city breaks and holidays.
52
Figure 4.6, Number of hotels in Alexandria and Barcelona
4.3.2 Number of Tourists The next figure shows the number of tourists visited Alexandria and Barcelona from 1990 till 2010. In Alexandria the number of tourists never exceeded the 0.44 million tourists, which points a big question mark to the expectations of the strategic plans of the city to double this number by the year 2017 how?. Meanwhile the number of tourists visited Barcelona were increasing till reached the peak in 2007 about 7.11 millions tourists and due to the crises the number decreased to reach 6.48 millions in 2009, but started to recover again and reached 7.13 millions in 2010 which maybe according to the successful policies that the city followed to recover quickly from the crises.
Figure 4.7, Number of tourists in Alexandria and Barcelona
53 4.3.3 Purpose of visit
Figure 4.8, Purpose to visit Barcelona
The previous figure shows the purpose of visit to Barcelona. During the period from 2000 till 2009, the leisure tourism represented the half dependency of tourism while the professional tourism represented the other half. Also it was mentioned in the interviews as it will be indicated later, that the Barcelona Turisme consortium trying to keep this balance between the leisure and professional tourism. Meanwhile this data was not available for Alexandria as it probably considered as a main vacation and leisure tourism destination.
4.3.4 Origin of tourists
The next figure shows the number of tourists according to their origins, as the tourists were divided according to three origins, Nationals (means the visitors with the country’s nationality) Sub-nationals (means the visitors from Arab world in the case of Alexandria and Europe in the case of Barcelona) and internationals (means the visitors from the rest of the world).
In Alexandria, the figure shows that it mainly depending on nationals who represent more than 68% of the number of tourists visiting the city, while the international tourists represent more than 22% and the sub-nationals represents only 10%, that may refer to the low income of Arab citizens compared to European or American citizens. This also opposes some answers of the interviews and the questionnaires which considered that Alexandria has more Arab tourists than international tourists.
In Barcelona, tourism rely more on sub-national and international tourists than national tourists as they represent 49%, 20% and 31% respectively of the number of tourists, which may refer to the proximity of Barcelona to Europe, United Kingdom and United States which represents the biggest groups visiting the city, adding to that the high income and life style those countries enjoy.
54
Figure 4.9, Number of tourists by origins 4.3.5 Most visited areas
Figure 4.10, Alexandria map from the Alexandria’s ultimate guide given free at the information point
As it is clear from the previous figure the most interesting part of Alexandria is along the coast (marked by the red oval shape) where extend the sunny nice beaches, the area between the eastern and western harbors (marked with the blue oval shape), this area includes most of the cultural and historical activities for tourism (Alexandria Bibliotheca, Roman theater and historical synagogue, churches and mosques), and finally the area which is in the far east of the city (marked by the dark brown oval shape) which contains the Royal Palace of Montazah, a huge park with unique plants and ancient palm trees.
55 Figure 4.11, Hotels map in Barcelona and the most visited areas As it is shown in the previous figure the most visited areas in Barcelona are the street of La Rambla and the plaza de Catalonia (areas shaded with the yellow color) and the areas around them. This are also includes most of the hotels and youth hostels on both sides of the street, similarly the area from La Rambla to the west continuing with the Diagonal street witness many visits from tourists. Meanwhile the area from the north where the forum exhibition located passing through the coast till the plaza de Carbonera to the south, and from the plaza de Espania to the south passing through Jardines de Joan Maragall ending by the plaza de Carbonera, those two areas are considered the second most visited areas in Barcelona according to the Barcelona Turisme statistics. Also the outer ring which is visited by the touristic buses provided by the Barcelona Turisme consortium.
4.3.6 SWOT Analysis SWOT City Urban Tourism
• The commercial & financial activities and Alexandria Bibliotheca with 3 million visitors a year • The city witnessed three different religious communities (Judaic, Christian, Muslim) which richen Alexandria its culture and heritage • A very old city with different urban structures in different eras. • Completion of the library nearby neighborhood redevelopment • Increasing number of tourists specially after the city has recovered from the 2008 crisis Strengths
• Architectural works of Gaudí and that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites Barcelona • Barcelona is Europe's 3rd and one of the world's most successful as a city brand • Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and 4th most visited in Europe • Diverse tourist products (guided tours, Barcelona card, audio guide Gaudi’s Barcelona … etc.)
56 • Loss of cultural focal point at international level & Few international cultural events • Weak promoting & marketing abilities & No clear tourism strategy Alexandria • Bad connection between different leisure locations • Poor potentials to receive tourists • Unattractive leisure activities compared to Cairo & Luxor Weaknesses
• There is no 24 hour info point (close at 18:00) Barcelona • Negative behavior of tourists which sometimes annoys the inhabitants of Barcelona
• Revitalization of the city center, new cultural life around the new Alexandria Bibliotheca, library of the Mediterranean world with a capacity of about 5 million volumes • Expansion of the port with modernization & improvement of the urban & extra-urban transport Alexandria services Suburban underground to the west & a start of an archaeological excavation campaign • Alexandria has been named capital of Arab tourism for 2010 • Underwater museum of archeological discoveries under PPP arrangements Opportunities
• Increasing number of tourists visiting Egypt every year • Increased tourism opportunities Barcelona • Stable position that Barcelona achieved between different touristic destinations • The negative environment of the coast, of the ground, water & air • The overdevelopment of tourism specially in the west coast of Alexandria Alexandria • Increased competition between different tourist destinations • Lack of a comprehensive tourism plan & miscommunication on the national & international levels
Threats • Tourism is a seasonal activity which affects other economic sectors
• Need for water & space for sector expansion Barcelona • Tourism is in a stagnation level in the tourist area lifecycle
Table 4.3, SWOT Analysis for Urban tourism of Alexandria and Barcelona
4.4 Promotion and Marketing 4.4.1 Ranking and prizes A. Rankings as a tourist destination
Country/City Egypt Alexandria Spain Barcelona
International rank 2487 (2007) Not in top 150 cities 488 (2010) 10 (2006)89
Subnational (2010) 1 in Middle East90 - 2 in Europe91 6 (2009)
Table 4.4, Rankings for Egypt, Alexandria, Spain and Barcelona
87 http://www.photos4travel.com/travel‐resources‐tools/most‐visited‐top‐ranking‐countries 88 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings 89 http://www.euromonitor.com/top‐150‐city‐destinations‐london‐leads‐the‐way/article 90 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings 91 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings 57 B. Prizes
Alexandria Barcelona
Alexandria won the Peace City Prize from the UNESCO Barcelona is the only city in the world with nine buildings in 2009. which are UNESCO World Heritage:
Alexandria won the Greening & Beautification of Cities Barcelona is the world’s third most popular congress city, and Prize from the Arab Towns Organization, 7th session is the sixth city in the world for convention tourism. (year 2000-2003).
Alexandria won the Preserve the Architectural Heritage Barcelona with 2,000,000 passengers is port of call in Europe Prize from the Arab Towns Organization, 8th session for cruise-liners and fourth in the world. (year 2003-2006).
Revival of Ancient Greek Ideals Award by the Athens According to The Daily Telegraph, Barcelona is the world’s University in 2007. top urban tourism destination of 2003.
The Capital of Islamic Culture in the Arab Region in Barcelona is the Spanish city where tourists from abroad carry 2008 and then the Capital of Arab Tourism in 2010 from out the most credit card transactions (22% of the total). the League of Arab States.
Table 4.5, Prizes that Alexandria and Barcelona have.
4.4.2 Websites By deep analysis and comparing the different websites of tourism of both cities Alexandria and Barcelona, some interesting conclusions were figured out as mentioned below: Barcelona Barcelona has two websites concerning tourism, one for Barcelona tourism and other for Catalonia. The website is in four different languages only (English, French, Spanish, and Catalan). While the main sponsors for Barcelona tourism website are: 1- Barcelona city council (Ajuntament de Barcelona) 2- Barcelona tourism (Barcelona Turimse) 3- Commerce Chamber of Barcelona (Cambra de Commerce de Barcelona) Main bar as we can see in the next figure is divided to: Practical guide - what to visit - things to do - BCN Shop - Travel trade - weather – search
58
Figure 4.12, The profile of Barcelona website for tourism 92
The following points could be concluded: • Attractive and easy to get through all information, such as, where to eat (you can select the price and place), shopping in the city, cultural activities, accessibility to handicapped and disabled people. • Availability to reserve and book restaurants and flights online • Need to focus otherwise you may get lost in the website with all this links and data • Themed routes – routes arranged by themes so you can choose what you are interested in • Transportation inside Barcelona is provided but not hot to get to Barcelona (but it is provided on the other website, how to get there by land, sea and air: http://www.bcn.es/) • Tickets for museums and other activities are provided also the Barcelona Card which provide you with free public transportation and discounts on museums • Guided tours are available (bike, scooters, helicopter and sea tours) • No emergency numbers • Importance of night life and how to attract tourist during day and night
Alexandria There are two websites one for Egypt tourism in general and other for Alexandria governorate. The website for Alexandria is only in three languages (English, French, and Arabic). While the main sponsors for Alexandria tourism website are: 1- Central Department of Tourism & Summer Resorts 2- Microtech Egypt (a web design firm) Main bar is divided to: DiscoverAlex directory – Alexandria map – Alexandria News – Alexandria agenda, which for example if you try to access the Alexandria agenda you will be directed to an Arabic link.
92 (http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/) 59
Figure 4.13, The profile of Alexandria website for tourism 93
And then on the left bar you can find something more practical about Tourism, central development of tourism & summer resorts then Tourism constituents which are: Cultural Tourism, Archaeological Tourism, Amusement Tourism, Maritime Tourism and yachting, Coastal Tourism, Religious Tourism, Sport Tourism, Roots Tourism, Therapeutic Tourism, and Environmental Tourism • And if you go through any of the constituent you can find a boring historic introduction without any information about the visiting times or hours or address or how to get there, also most of it without any photos or even with bad resolution. • No availability to reserve or book anything online • You cannot get lost in the website because there are not so many things to actually do on it • Information how to get to the city is provided, train and bus time tables but no information about transportation in Alexandria • Nothing mentioned about tickets or cards for museums or other different facilities (tourism products). • No guided tours (maybe there is but not mentioned on the website). • Some important emergency numbers and addresses, of police station, airport and others • Alexandria Map (some hotels, airlines offices, tourism agencies, cinemas, and fast food) • No attention given to night life and how to attract tourist during day and night – mainly day activities.
4.3.2 Economic, social and environmental consequences of tourism - Tourism share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) While it is interesting to see how each country rely on tourism as an important sector of economic activities. According to GDP of Egypt and Spain, tourism sector represents 12% and 6.6%, respectively, of the national GDP of each country. Which means that Egypt rely on tourism more than Spain does, which explain how any crises may affect such a country’s economy.
93 (http://www.discoveralex.com/default_EN.asp) 60
Figure 4.14, Tourism share in GDP in Egypt and Spain
- SWOT Analysis
SWOT City Economic capital
Alexandria • The GDP of Egypt increased in the last decades
• High level of wealth creation • Economic structure depends mainly on industry & services • Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, economic and cultural-sports centers Barcelona • It is the 4th richest city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world Strengths • Leading industries in textiles, chemical, pharmaceutical, motor, electronic, printing, logistics, publishing, telecommunications and information technology services • World Trade Center Barcelona, which is located in Barcelona's harbor Port Vell.
Alexandria • The change from an industrial and agriculture based economy to service economy
• Decreased productivity Barcelona • Low culture of inversion in innovation Weaknesses
• The manufacturing sector had overtaken by the services sector • Stabilizing foreign exchange rates Alexandria • Strong opportunities for investment as a result of liberalization of sectors • Opportunities to support other economic activities from tourism • Increase in tourism sector Barcelona
Opportunities • Main services are construction, chemicals & textile
• Openness to foreign investments • Globalization and poverty Alexandria • Economic benefits to take over social and environmental capitals • Destruction of the rest of the enterprises Threats Barcelona
• Globalization
61 SWOT City Social capital
Alexandria • The middle class represents the majority of population
• Only 7.1% unemployment rate before 2008 crisis Barcelona
Strengths • Awareness of inhabitants towards the economic effects of tourism
• Extreme contrast between social classes Alexandria • Insufficient consumer protection measures • Low qualified employment Barcelona
Weaknesses • Temporal employment
Alexandria • Large remittances from Egyptians working abroad
Barcelona
unities • Redistribution of the employment in the manufacture sector to other economic sectors Opport
• Crime and safety problems Alexandria • The shrinking of the middle class, and increasing the gap between rich and poor • Increasing the gap between rich and poor Threats Barcelona
• Increase of labor force working under service sectors SWOT City Environmental capital
• The government is applying many environmental precautions on new development projects Alexandria (Environmental Impact Assessment policies and Environmental Impact Statements) • The ministry of Environment and environment preservation laws
Strengths • Forestry resources 61% of the Catalan territory
Barcelona • Awareness of community concerning the environment problems • Random development on the coastal zone to increase economic capital Alexandria • Water pollution due to the increased number of ships • Limitations of water resources which distributed irregularly Barcelona
Weaknesses • Limited source of energy
• Increasing awareness about environment preservation • Environmental programs with European countries to exchange experiences Alexandria • To activate the environmental laws • Recycling garbage and produce energy • Clean politics Opportunities
Barcelona • Alternative energy resources • Tourism opportunities • Bad management of environment on the local levels Alexandria • Garbage accumulation and its influence on human health & need for more green spaces and parks
Threats Barcelona • Need for water
Table 4.6, SWOT Analysis for the economic, social and environmental capitals 62 4.4 Managing structure and experts interviews 4.4.1 Managing structure in Egypt and Spain The structure difference between both countries could be mentioned in: A. Egypt While the administrative structure of the Ministry Of Tourism (MOT) is clearly centralized, as the administrative flow is linear starting from the minister’s office ending by the hotels and resorts sector, except for the two general authorities of tourism promotion and development, and below is the administrative structure graph.
Figure 4.15, Administrative structure of ministry of tourism in Egypt 94
B. Spain So far, the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce (MITYC) has a different structure than the Egyptian one, as tourism is considered as “Under-Secretariat for Industry, Tourism and Trade” then the general secretary for tourism and domestic trade. The MITYC is responsible of setting “a proposal and implementation of the government policy on industrial development, trade policy, energy, small and medium enterprises, tourism, telecommunications, and information society” 95 and below is the organization chart of the MITYC. Meanwhile, tourism management in Spain is totally managed by the Autonomous communities. So far, Catalonia has its own organization of tourism which is responsible for the Catalan region only.
94 http://www.tourism.gov.eg/Pages/MinistryStructure.aspx 95 (http://www.mityc.es/es‐ ES/ElMinisterio/FuncionesCompetencias/Funciones%20y%20Competencias/1.%20Reestructuraci%C3%B3n%20de%20los%20departamentos%2 0ministeriales/61RD1313_2010.pdf) Article 10 63
Figure 4.16, Administrative structure of ministry of industry, tourism and commerce in Spain 96
Thus, tourism is considered with a strong relation with the domestic trade in Spain, while the ministry announced on the 8th of June, 2011 a new strategic plan for tourism till 2020 called Turisme2020.97
4.4.2 Results of the Interviews Interviews were done with experts, Academic Professors and PhD candidates, firstly for Barcelona urban tourism, interview with Joana Homs i Ros, Assisstant director in Barcelona Turisme, and an expert in strategic planning of Barcelona and a professor in Universitat de Barcelona professor Francisco López.
Secondly for Alexandria, an academic who is expert in Alexandria’s strategic planning, an interview with Dr. Eng. Manal M. F. El-Shahat in Städtebau Institut (SI) Universität Stuttgart and teaching assistant in Ain Shams
University in Cairo, and thirdly, an interview with Eng. Mohamed Mehaina MSc the Head of the GIS and Database Unit in the Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center, an interview with Ayat Ismail as a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Science, department of Geography, VUB (Vrjie Universitat Brussels) which is included in the appendix. Moreover some questionnaire survey was distributed among colleagues and friends in Alexandria in order to get an overview and some opinions about the tourism situation in the city which stems from my belief that public participation is important in order to achieve the research main objective and goals.
- Interviews The interview questions were about 15 questions more or less for both cities with some differences concerning location wise and the reality that, Barcelona has a developed rank between international destinations and Alexandria is still in the exploring stage to impose its position as an international destination, hereby the summary of both cities’ interviews.
96 http://www.mityc.es/en‐US/ElMinisterio/Organigrama/Paginas/Index.aspx 97 (http://www.turismo2020.es/index.php?/esp/novedades/ver/28) 64 Barcelona 1- Joana Homs i Ros, Assisstant director in Barcelona Turisme As an expert in tourism in Barcelona with a background in urban planning working to promote tourism to Barcelona, she was able to manage and answer all the questions. Joana assured that the biggest target groups visiting Barcelona by nationality after Spanish citizens are what she called the “top 5 nationalities”, Italy, UK, France, US, and Germany in descending order according to number of tourists. Joana informed that Barcelona city has collaboration on multi-levels: “Yes, we cooperate with the province of Barcelona with Catalonia division; participate in the association of the European Cities Marketing (ECM) which is a platform on a pan-European basis for cities to perform better in their convention and tourism activities, also with the UNESCO and the WTO (UNWTO). On the national level we cooperate with Catalonia and Spain for the tourism promotional plan, while we cooperate with other countries in Europe only to exchange data and information about tourism”
The tourism in Barcelona is all over the year no wonder this destination has achieved a developed position. Meanwhile the highest tourism season is in July and August, while the lowest season is in January and February and the strategy followed in Barcelona Turisme is: “We are trying to push the business tourism during this time of the year to increase the number of tourists. As now tourism is 50% of business tourism in winter and 50% of vacation tourism in summer and we try to keep this balance as possible”
But the interesting is how Barcelona succeeded to achieve such position in an international tourism market “I think Barcelona achieved this position by many things, public-private-partnership, gastronomy, shopping, cruise tourism, sports, meeting tourism and the geographical and multi-sectorial distribution of the effects of tourism all this beside the basic assets that the city has from infrastructure, urban and culture”
Joana’s definition of urban tourism was clear as Barcelona Turisme is dealing with this concept for a while, so the term “urban tourism” is defined as “Urban tourism means that people are interested in cities, and want to spend time in the city, urban tourism is what attracts people in the city to spend their vacation or holidays or take a break in weekends” but specifically Barcelona experienced urban tourism after 1992 “While here in Barcelona the tourism before the Olympic Games was mainly business tourism but after the Olympic Games the city was opened to the beach and that’s when urban tourism started in Barcelona as before tourists who wanted the beach used to go to Costa Brava or any other place on the Catalan coast because basically there was no beach in Barcelona, due to the industrial trend that the city used to have” Tourism in Barcelona brought some best effects to the city such as “Tourism helps the economy to maintain and improve the city resulting to have its projection on the economic, social and international levels” but what is more impressive when the citizens feel the reflection of that effects; as according to a survey done in Barcelona questioning: which economic sector contributes most wealth to the city? Spontaneous results in September, 2009, and more than 57 % of the people who answered the survey assured that in their opinion tourism is the economic sector which contributes the most wealth to the city.
65 But on the other hand some negative behavior may impair the positive ones and it is interesting to see how Barcelona Turisme dealt with that: “The fact that, it is possible to happen to see people walking naked on the beach or in the streets, the residents said that we share the same behavior that we are all human, which means that it is not only tourists, so when people talk about this kind of behavior we say not only tourists who do this kind of behavior but also local people do it, so do not blame only on tourism, adding to that we promote also the benefits gained from tourism”
The Barcelona Turisme normally produce an annual plan since after the Olympic Games, which should be approved by the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce, while the president of Barcelona Turisme is the mayor of the city and the vice-president is the president of the Chamber of Commerce, adding to that the tourist products that is developed by the Barcelona Turisme every year. While urban tourism is facing some challenges in Barcelona which could be mentioned in three main points - Centralization - Sustainability - Trying to find solutions for the strategic lines in the strategic plans The policies followed to promote Barcelona are quite interesting Joana mentioned that: “We work as professionals in the sense that, we go directly to the intermediates of tourism such as travel agencies and tour operators to include Barcelona in their catalogues according to what Barcelona offers for visitors, while our strategy is not about advertising but about perception. Also we are considering a sustainable strategy to be included while Barcelona on the website. Also we are planning to target different target groups like what family, what kids and what youth could do in the city”
The economic crises affected many countries in the world and correspondingly economic sectors such as tourism and catering, so how did the crises affect tourism in Barcelona, Joana’s answer was: “It is true that tourism has been growing from the year 1992-1993 till the year 2007 more or less, then number of tourists decreased about 2-3% in the period between 2007 and 2009, but in 2010 it started to increase again, and we believe that the stage that Barcelona in, is stable, so it’s about maintaining our position, maybe the number of tourists will increase a little bit more but we are sure that we are in the stagnation position. Also we are trying to keep rhythm of the city always in motion, so visitors always see something new going on to keep the idea of a dynamic city”
We have been talking about urban planning and different types of tourism but we did not mention urban tourism as urban tourism is considered everything the city has of dynamics, culture and infrastructure. It is really interesting to analyze tourism in the city and any other kind of services because the city with all its infrastructure, dynamics and etc… is different from rural areas which characterize urban tourism from other kind of tourism. She said.
2- Dr. F. López Palomeque in the Department of Physical Geography and Analysis in Universidad Barcelona. As an academic and expert in strategic planning, Doctor F. Lopez defined urban tourism as:
66 “One of the basic types of tourism identified from different geographical associate with the configuration of the corresponding tourist areas. Type of tourism that includes various tourism activities taking place in urban environments in cities”
Meanwhile, as tourism has positive effects it has also negative effects, while the positive effects could be concluded in the following three main factors: - Economic stimulation, which increases production and consumption in various sub-sectors (services, transportation, trade, etc.) which contributes to the city’s GDP from 10 to 12 % - Strengthening the image (and brand) of Barcelona internationally - Inductor to the construction of infrastructure facilities and services (airport, ports, railways, etc.) While the negative effects are: - Impact on road and pedestrian mobility (congestion, loss of attractiveness, dissatisfaction) - Conflicts between the tourist habits and the habits of the residents (schedules, noise, occupation of public spaces) - Rising standards of living (in its various manifestations) - Negative image of overcrowding and conflict tourism, which perceived as a negative image of the city
Barcelona offers an interrelated set of several components which make it attractive and pleasant to tourist experience, environmental conditions to "live", sea conditions (sea, beach, ...), location, historical-monumental heritage (Gaudí, Picasso, ...); sports class (inheritance and image material 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona FC ,..); open city, friendly, accessible, tolerant and "progressive”. All this made the tourism demand to visit Barcelona very heterogeneous and pro-segmented form. While, in order to maintain the city attractive, the one has to: “Keep the differential offer of its attractions and brand value, be committed to products and services qualities, and manage the flow of visitors to avoid or mitigate overcrowding”
Barcelona suffers some negative behaviors from its visitors as mentioned before, and to avoid that kind of behavior Dr. F. López Palomeque suggested to: “Enforce city ordinances, which generally provide for the prohibition of anti-social behavior and related penalties. However, it is difficult to achieve full compliance with the ordinances, because of their nature (behavior of citizens, private sector-public sector, difficulties in monitoring police, etc.) I understand that this issue will always be source of conflict, which can be relaxed but will probably never be eradicated in absolute terms”
He also mentioned the Barcelona 2015 strategic plan which was developed between 2008 and 2010 as mentioned in the previous chapter, which should be the basic instrument of management of tourism in the city and as a correspondence to the entity of Turisme de Barcelona. Barcelona faces some challenges concerning urban tourism: “The articulation of tourism in the city pre-existing structures (institutional, political, economic, social, territorial): the relationship between tourism and city. In particular, the process already underway for extension of tourism by "the entire” city… The effective management of tourism mobility and mobility routine … the joint tourism promotion and management of the "Big Barcelona" and the phenomenon has
67 crossed the border tour of the town and now the "destination" Barcelona (in functional terms) covers an area larger than the municipality”.
Alexandria 3- Dr. Eng. Manal M. F. El-Shahat in Städtebau Institut (SI) Universität Stuttgart and teaching assistant in Ain Shams University in Cairo As an expert in strategic planning whose PhD was focusing on strategic issues in sectors of historic districts in Alexandria, Manal El-Shahat assured that the biggest target groups visiting Alexandria by nationality are Egyptians, Arabs and Europeans respectively. While Egyptians and Arabs prefer to visit the city in summer and autumn, Europeans prefer to visit it in autumn, winter and spring. When she was asked about the term of “urban tourism” she argued that: “I personally didn’t focus my studies on the term of urban tourism. My concern focuses on strategic issues in the sectors of historic districts where tourists are one of the target groups using these areas together with their residents….. From my point of view the definition of urban tourism is “Tourism which takes place in urban areas. It is also the tourism sectors which targeting urban areas either historic or new ones with the aims of exploring the other textures of architecture and urban space and identifying the other cultures affecting the final product of urban and architectural forms”…… Moreover, it depends on the specific elements of the urban tourism product that gives the attractiveness of a city for visitors.”
Thus, urban tourism is still a new term in the Egyptian context specifically in Alexandria. But as tourism has positive impacts it has negative ones, on one hand: “By increasing the demand of tourism sector in certain areas (e.g. historic and old districts), the State or City planners will be encouraged to invest in development plans in these areas…. For Example; El- Gomrouk District in Alexandria is a historic district with distinguish Turkish architecture and traditional urban spaces. The area has been neglected as a tourist center and all plans have been done focusing on the area as an old residence area. Action plans, by planning the area as a historic tourist center and by promoting the area to be as an attractive tourist district, will enhance local services and its quality of life. The area can be developed to gain high standards. So that both local residents and visitors may benefit from these strategic plans”
And on the other hand: “Egypt tourism policies in different cities focus on short term gains from this sector and most of their tourism strategies are not sustainable…..Most of strategic plans are not concentrating on”
“I do not think that there is an extreme negative behavior in Alexandria like in Europe. I think it may be more in Sinai or on the beach. But I think personally that rules and punishment are enough to deal with these negative behaviors”
So what actually could Alexandria offer in order to attract more tourists and impose its position as an international destination? That was the question which was answered by: “Alexandria has a special mixture of cultures and architecture or urban features. The city is very old and many civilizations affect its development”
68 “The linear expansion of the city along the Mediterranean Sea gives the city an attractive beach and the sun shine and good weather all the year gives the city more attractive elements”
In Manal’s opinion, by promoting the local attraction under the slogan of “A mixed culture historic city versus the different means of globalization all over the world”, not only that but also by establishing organizations for each target group and for each type of tourism to be developed Alexandria could attract and convert tourists in the face of the intense global competition.
She mentioned that most of strategic plans target local and beach tourism while projects or strategies concerning urban historic centers are very few or almost neglected, while the first priorities should be given to the development of historic public spaces, cafes and bazars then beach and seasonal tourism in order to make progress in urban tourism. However, the main challenges facing urban tourism in Alexandria are - Lack of good and enough open spaces. - Lack of maintenance of historic and old buildings, and the buildings facing the beach, which are exposed to high humidity from the sea. - Lack of shadow areas either on the beach or in the old historic areas.
Finally, Alexandria lacks an intelligent development plan targeting all tourism sectors either in historic centers or on the beach as the city really has the motive and potentials to be one of the successful international tourism destinations.
4- Mohamed Mehaina MSc, Head of GIS and Database Unit in Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center Mohamed is originally from Alexandria, who lived and worked there for thirty years, also his location in the Mediterranean research center and this kind of Euro-Mediterranean Union, “as the research center is concerned with everything related to the city without priorities except for its rich heritage which maybe it’s of much concern to the center”. Thus it was important to have this interview with him by email taking into account the limited time and circumstances that Egypt is witnessing now.
He confirmed that summer is considered the high tourism season for local tourists while international tourism is all year round. While concerning urban tourism he said:
“The first time to hear about it, but from the wording it could mean tourism routes within the city itself not for example the ecotourism which is away from the city” Mohamed argues that Alexandria lacks and challenges a better management and good marketing strategies and in his opinion if both are provided, the city will be one of the best tourism destinations ever. He also mentioned that tourism has many positive impacts while he does not see any negative impacts resulting from tourism. “Tourism is a very powerful and steering industry. It involves the interaction and integration of multidisciplinary activities, hence improving local economic development and on the other side sustaining urban spaces and tourist attractions” Alexandria has many tourist attractions which can offer as a different service than other destinations in order to attract more tourists:
69 “Weather; accessibility (ports on the Mediterranean and international airports); a historical cosmopolitan city that goes back to the Alexander the founder of the city; the rich archaeological sites exists in the city; low accommodation prices; beaches on the north coast; etc...”
While he also mentioned that they finished the design of some development proposals for the eastern harbor under the name of Metamorphosis in Alexandria, which may bring a new urban soul to this area and be a node to attract tourists all over the world as it includes the establishment of a Bibliotheca forum and academia, underwater archeological park and museum, a royal yacht with a waterfront promenade, hotel and business center, a new pharos hotel and a pedestrian promenade and bridge.
Figure 4.17, The proposed design for the eastern harbor of Alexandria (Metamorphosis) 70 4.5 Conclusion To sum up, the differences in urban tourism between Alexandria and Barcelona were presented previously, these differences do not regret three facts (factors), which may be an obstacels for development of the tourism sector, firstly, the fact that Alexandria is located in a developing country while Barcelona is in a developed one, which maybe an obstacle for development but also an opportunity, in the sense that, to provide the money needed for development this factor may affect the strategic plan to be deviated from its path. That reflects the economic situation of the city, as this research is not concerned about the difference of economic situation, but concerns about how to learn from the successful example of Barcelona to serve Alexandria strategic planning to be in a better position regarding its assets and potentials.
Secondly, the political situation, Barcelona enjoys a democratic atmosphere which encourages investing and developing regardless personal benefits and interests, the atmosphere which believes in and looks only after the community and public benefits, on the contrary the case in Alexandria, which witnessed three decades of unhealthy and undemocratic atmosphere that looked only after the personal benefits regardless community and public benefits. That kind of atmoshpere repels investments and businesses away regardless the cheap available labor exisiting adding to that the boring bearucracy of official papers that should be fullfilled.
Thirdly, the location plays an important role, to attract both tourists and investments to cities, Alexandria is located in the Middle East, and very close to the Arab-Israeli conflict zone, this factor plays an important role in the business and tourism atmoshperes.
Meanwhile, these factors could be overcomed if the reasons of success of barcleona were followed nevertheless the three factors mentioned above. This hope rooted from the strong assets and potentials that Alexandria has. The next chapter will deal with the secret of Barcelona’s success as an urban tourism destination and answers the research main question.
As concluded from the SWOT, statistics, websites, urban and tourism Analysis, both cities shared some similarities like the geographical location on the Mediterranean Sea, while the demographic statistics showed that the populotion in 2011 is between 4.5 and 5 millions in both cities. The climate of Alexandria is more dry and hot than Barcelona considering the desert background of the city. From the strategic development, the city of Barcelona has all the infrastructure and services which mainly were settled due to the Olymic Games in 1992, and now the city is witnessing a new flow of projects according to the new strategic plan, while even after the development that Alexandria witnessed during the openning of the Bibliotheca Alexandria, it is still lack the sufficient infrastructure and services to attain a higher position as an urban tourism destination, while the new proposed development project of the Eastern Harbor may open the city to experience urban tourism.
As also the statistical data of urban tourism assured the differences in room occupancies and number of hotels, and by analyzing the most visited areas, Alexandria depending mainly on beach tourism which concentrated along the city’s coast, then on culture tourism around the library, east and west harbor areas, while in Barcelona the most visited areas spread over the coast and penetrates the city from many axes La Rambla and the Diagonal that also refers to the developed notion of urban tourism which still needs to be developed in Alexandria.
71 The sufficient policies for promoting and marketing Barcelona, the website and Barcelona Turisme agency, no doubt are an essential factors of the city’s success, that what Alexandria lacks by the moment, meanwhile Alexandria was chosen to be the capital of Arab tourism in 2010 which I think maybe a start for promoting the city on the sub- national level.
The management of tourism in Barcleona seems to be more welcoming to investments and businesses than Alexandria, may be that refers to the stablility and assessments policies that Barcelona follows in strategic planning, which tend to stick to the plan and figure out the challenges and problems and then try to fix and edit the strategic lines according to the new challlenges to be always on the right track and achieve main objectives. In Alexandria the management always lacks transparency and clear plans to achieve the main objectives beside the long boring procedures and official papers which always have to be referenced to the minister of tourism.
The Egyptian dependency on tourism is more than Spain, while both Egyptians and Spanish understand and feel the benefits of tourism and how it brings investments and provide foreign curruncies to the country regardless the negative impacts caused by tourism.
72 Chapter 5: Secret of success and recommendations 5.1 The secret of success Here comes the answer to the research main question, how has urban tourism been successful experience, the following lines will hold the answer, as in my opinion the secret of success of Barcelona is to be summed in the 3Plans, a strategic plan, a promotional plan and a business plan, by which they worked in parallel to escalate urban tourism.
1. Strategic plan, which provides social and urban circumstances The strategic plan considers economic, environmental, social, and institutional aspects of tourism development, by which provides the infrastructure, urban projects and the healthy atmosphere needed for tourism development. Meanwhile, strategic planning does not guarantee success but improves the odds of success, which could be achieved through dynamic, flexible and adaptable planning process. Also, providing a shared vision of tourism development scenarios with a continuous assessment of the outcomes of the decision-making process, and anticipating the definition of a strategy for sustainable tourism in order to integrate future tourism development with competing economic activities.
Strategic plan is the umbrella which includes all aspects of economic, social, culture and environmental lives, arrange, manage and cooperate with each other in order to bring some outcomes which satisfy all different life needs according to the sake of each sector and to the inputs provided. By which urban tourism starts out of these context to exercise and practice its tasks.
The strategic plan has to be provided by the government which controls, regulate and facilitate the implementation of the plan objectives, discover the new challenges and problems to keep the plan on the right track without deviation from the main objective, taking into consideration the public interests which should not to be taken over by private interests.
2. Promotional plan provides marketing and promotional platforms This plan is essential in order to promote and market the urban tourism products from hotels, culture centers, sea cruises, bus tours, tourist cards and walking tours, through trade fairs, workshops, presentations, sales trips, special events, advertising, and press trip.
Barcelona’s strategy for promotion has two promotion policies: 1. Segmented promotion of the city This idea depends on dividing the tourism in the city into different segments to promote each segment according to the people’s different interests and desires into the following: Culture tourism, meetings tourism, shopping tourism, gastronomy, premium, sports tourism … etc., and each segment has its own programme line of promotion.
2. Promotion by geographical and economic markets This kind of promotion divides the target groups (tourists) into different groups according to their geographical locations and economic levels into the following: 1) Traditional markets (United Kingdom, Italy, United States, France and Germany – these are the top five countries where tourists come from), 2) Emerging markets (China, India, Brazil, and Russia), 3) Other markets (Middle East, South East Asia …etc.)
73 These policies are the secret of success of Barcelona’s urban tourism during the last two decades as was mentioned in the interview with Joana Homs, the assistant director of Barcelona Turisme agency. While beside the two main policies there are some promotional activities for: - Travel trade Presentations in source markets and workshops, trade fairs and sales trips, and Press trips within professional promotion framework to, travel agencies, tour operators, and the media - General public And some promotional activities to the general public through the website of Barcelona tourism (www.barcelonaturisme.cat) and Tourist Information Offices (OITS) which spread in different places all over the city in 22 locations. The promotional plan that Barcelona follows is a Public Private Partnership (PPPs) - which I recommend to assure collaboration and cooperation between the promotional plan and the strategic plan without conflicts in order to achieve the main strategic objectives - as the municipality and the chamber of commerce contributes to the budget by one million euros each year while the rest of the budget is from Barcelona Turisme own sources. Barcelona Turisme own resources comes from the sale of the tourism products such as, Barcelona Bus Touristic, Barcelona Card, Barcelona walking tours, AudioGuide Gaudi’s Barcelona …etc., online sale of products and services, hotel reservations, fares and commissions, sponsorships, … etc.
3. Business and innovation plan provides economic and innovative circumstances This plan is essential to attract investors to invest in the strategic plan generally and tourism specifically. The inclusion of the private investments is important to strengthen the city’s both economy and society, by providing the capital needed for investments and creating job opportunities. Also, guarantee to implement the newest innovations and technologies into the strategic plan and tourism sector, by which attracts more tourists by the smooth flow and flexibility of the services offered. Thus this plan needs more research and studies to inform how to create, manage and apply it with the two other plans.
Meanwhile, the three plans should work together to achieve a successful urban tourism destination.
5.2 General recommendations • With the increasing number of people living in cities, urban tourism will gain more and more fame and importance within cities, by which ring the alarm to define strategies to manage it. • Urban tourism is a vital topic which still needs to be well defined and identified through more research and with different case studies in different cities around the world. • Within urban tourism all those who are affected by tourism are to be consulted in order to achieve a sustainable tourism strategy, including participants representing culture, society, economy and politics. • The concepts of sustainability should be included in the strategic plan, promotional plan and business plans, in order to give chances to future generations to enjoy what we enjoyed. • It needs to be recognized that the future of tourism is likely to be determined for the most part by the tourism industry, which is dominated by the private sector. To address this escalating imbalance between public and private sector interests, the WTO recommends that governments guide the
74 formation of regulations in a fashion congruent with the primary principles of sustainable tourism (e.g., investment guidelines for TNCs (Transnational Corporations), encouragement for environmental and social impact assessment, encouragement of transfer of information and technologies from TNCs to the local context and encouragement of local human resource utilization) (WTO, 1999). 98 • If tourism wants to contribute to the sustainable development, then it must be economically viable, ecologically sensitive and socially and culturally appropriate. • Tourism planning should be recognized as a continuous, flexible, adaptive and transparent process. Within the framework of the policy and plan recommendations, there must be flexibility to allow for adaptation to changing circumstances. Planning for tourism development should make recommendations that are imaginative and innovative, but they must also be feasible to implement. The various techniques of implementation should be considered throughout the planning process. 99 • Tourism development in coastal areas shows a very high dependence on the physical, environmental, cultural and socio-economic features of the receiving coastal environment. A clear differentiation should be made between the simple tourism growth that many countries experience in their coastal zones, and a planned and responsible tourism development, which can significantly contribute to the reduction of the ever-growing negative impacts of this industry on the coastal environment and society.100 • Tourism through the integrated actions of all actors and proper mechanisms can contribute considerably to the reduction of poverty in coastal communities. But it can also have a strong negative impact on climate change due to the increased emissions of carbon dioxide by increased transportation demands as well as on the degradation of valuable natural habitats, loss of species, etc. even in destinations where these constitute the major tourism attraction. • There are several concepts and tools which are critical for successful tourism planning as well as for a better understanding of its impacts and ways of mitigating them. Notable among them are the Ecological Footprint (EF) is an estimate of human pressure on global ecosystems, Tourism Carrying Capacity Assessment (TCCA) which dwells on a perception that tourism cannot grow forever in an area without causing irreversible damage to the local system, and the Environmental Assessment (EA) as a decision-making process used to promote good environmental planning by assessing the potential effects and benefits of certain activities on the environment. • It is a well-known fact that many tourism destinations spend most of their time reacting to unexpected changes instead of anticipating and preparing for them. What they usually do is called "crisis management". What they should be doing, is a viable alternative Strategic Planning Process.
98 International Journal of Economic Development 3, 3, 2001, pp. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: THE LONG ROAD FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE, Tracy Berno, Tourism Studies Program, University of the South Pacific & Kelly Bricker, Division of Forestry, Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Program,West Virginia Universit. (http://www.spaef.com/file.php?id=1061) 99 United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Sustainable Coastal Tourism, An integrated planning and management approach, Page (http://www.uneptie.org/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) 100 United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Sustainable Coastal Tourism, An integrated planning and management approach, Page (http://www.uneptie.org/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1091xPA‐SustainableCoastalTourism‐Planning.pdf) 75 • Sports tourism should be used as a kind of promotion to the city of Alexandria and increase the information points in the city. • Setting a sufficient comprehensive strategic plan to improve the urban tourism in Alexandria • Alexandria has the motive to achieve a developed position as an urban tourism destination and compete on the sub-national and international levels. • The local government should encourage and support small and medium enterprises related to tourism and shorten the long official paper work needed to raise the opportunities of sufficient urban tourism. But that should be included firstly in the strategic plan to avoid unplanned and random developments. • The implementation of the Metamorphosis project which may open huge opportunities for urban tourism in Alexandria, especially meetings and business tourism, beside the economic and social benefits represented in creating job opportunities. • Alexandria has room for significant growth of the tourism system. While the position as a tourism destination internationally is conditioned not so much because of pull factors, but by the behavior of potential claims (Alexandria tourist destination for whom?) And limitations on access (distance to markets, etc.).
Figure 5.1, A proposed framework of a successful urban tourism
76 Appendix Research Time Frame
Other definitions The Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (French: Union pour la Méditerranée), previously known as the "Mediterranean Union" (French: Union Méditerranéenne), is a community established on the 13 July 2008 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, as a development of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.
On November 2008 Barcelona became the seat of the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean. The seat is located in the Pedralbes Palace
The Mediterranean and European Unions would work together and share some institutions, including a common judicial area to fight corruption, terrorism, organized crime and people smuggling. The Union consists of all the EU states and those countries on the Mediterranean rim or those which are participating in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The idea is to form a connection between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.101
101 http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_news/the_union_for_the_mediterranean 77
Map of Union for the Mediterranean.102
Map of the Mediterranean major cities103
102 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EU27‐2008‐Union_for_the_Mediterranean.svg 103 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Mediterranean‐major‐cities.png 78 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO/OMT) is a specialized agency of the United Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.
UNWTO plays a central and decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the interests of developing countries. The Organization encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, with a view to ensuring that member countries, tourist destinations and businesses maximize the positive economic, social and cultural effects of tourism and fully reap its benefits, while minimizing its negative social and environmental impacts.
Its membership includes 154 countries, 7 territories and over 400 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities. Direct actions that strengthen and support the efforts of National Tourism Administrations are carried out by UNWTO's regional representatives (Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific,Europe, the Middle East and South Asia) based at the Headquarters in Madrid.
UNWTO is committed to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, geared toward reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development. 104
The World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2001) prefers the following definition of sustainable development:
“Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to managements of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life support systems” 105
104 http://unwto.org/en/about/unwto 105 Zhenhau Liu (2003: 460), the Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Curran Building, 94 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 OLG, United Kingdom, Journal of sustainable tourism, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2003. 79
Map represents the governorates of Egypt. 106
The Comprehensive Plan of Alexandria till 2017 107
106 http://ephotopix.com/egypt_governorate_map.html 107 Alexandria strategic plan (September 1997) for 2017, first report, Urban Studies. Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP) 80
Number of Others (youth Total number of Rooms Number of Years hostels, motels, Average stay Hotels rooms occupancy % tourists etc. …) (night/tourist)
1992 55 5 3869 50 318037 2.2
1993 54 5 3870 51 322062 2.2
1994 52 5 3755 47 369300 1.9
1995 51 5 3726 53 361941 1.9
1996 52 5 3756 53.6 413663 1.8
Number of hotels, rooms and percentage of room occupancy – strategic plan for Alexandria 2017
The Strategic Plan of Alexandria till 2022 108
108 Alexandria strategic plan for 2022, Ministry of housing, Infrastructure and new communities, General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP), Regional Center for Planning and Urban Development ‐ Alexandria Region – edited and translated by the researcher. 81 Number of Number of Others (youth hostels, Total number of Occupancy Average stay Years motels, etc. …) Hotels rooms % tourists (night/tourist)
1992 55 5 3869 50 318037 2.2
1993 54 5 3870 51 322062 2.2
1994 52 5 3755 47 369300 1.9
1995 51 5 3726 53 361941 1.9
1996 52 5 3756 53.6 413663 1.8
1997 52 5 3625 41.3 324480 1.7
1998 51 5 3842 42 376788 1.6
1999 52 5 4058 46 435114 1.6
2000 52 5 3887 43.1 425210 1.4
2001 52 5 3831 58 366530 1.9
2002 51 5 3872 40.7 308808 1.9
Number of hotels, rooms and percentage of room occupancy – strategic plan for 2022
82
Summary table of strategies, aims, sub-aims and measures of Barcelona 2000 1st Strategic Plan
83 Perspective of the strategic plan 1999 - 2005 109
As will be seen later, the measures contained within these five lines can constitute, in some cases, transversal action groups that do no more than define a series of sub-models implicit in the 3rd strategic Plan. • The connected city Infrastructures appear as the great deficiency of the city (among other things the airport, the gauge of the railways, the port ...). This is the great obstacle that has to be overcome to attain the mission assigned to this Plan. The measures concerned with infrastructures are distributed amongst three basic lines: BMR (Line 1), international placement (Line 5), and obviously, the attainment of the city of knowledge (Line 3). Telecommunications are also among the key obstacles to be overcome. • The open enterprising city To be an open, enterprising city, education, training and research are the great challenges to the Barcelona of the 21st century. On a good system of education, research and innovation depends occupation, the absence of social exclusion and the position of the city. Clearly, the enterprising nature of the citizens is an indispensable condition in ensuring the dynamism necessary to continually open up to new economic activities (Lines 2 and 3). • A region of cities The configuration of a Barcelona metropolitan region as a compact group of cities that, if we combine potential and coordinate services, would contribute a significant added value that could be used to exploit the opportunities that the global economy provides for that type of urban agglomeration. • A city for people
109 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/III_Estrategic_Plan.pdf) 84 A city which, with the global application of the 3rd Plan, attempts to ensure a high quality of life for all its citizens, especially with regard to employment, culture and mobility, etc. The 3rd Plans especially wishes to influence support for a public transport system that improves people’s mobility. With these ideas in mind, the 3rd Plan appears as an entity that consists of its mission, the five strategic lines and its 25 objectives. 110
The 1st phase and 2006/2020 objectives 111
110 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/III_Estrategic_Plan.pdf) 111 (http://www.pemb.cat/Usuarios/43B94/archivos/EVE/PEMB_2006‐2010_en_angles.pdf) 85 The strategic plan number 6: Turisme BCN 2015, Pla Estrategic de Turisme de la Ciutat de Barcelona Diagnosis and strategic proposal - Executive Summary 112 The strategic proposal for Barcelona 2015 included the vision, the tourism model and the challenges facing tourism in Barcelona. This proposal was presented on 26th of January 2010 in the salon de Cent Chamber at Barcelona City Hall, during a ceremony chaired by the mayor of Barcelona and the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. Vision TurismeBCN2020 Meanwhile the plan is designed to fulfill the needs of tourism till 2015, the efforts had been made to project a vision over a ten-year period (2010-2020) in order to establish a broader scope and also open possibilities to develop a new horizon plan for 2015-2020. Barcelona proposed vision as a touristic destination in the future 2020 as: • Barcelona will still be recognized as the most vibrant and dynamic tourist destination in the Mediterranean and one of the world’s leading destinations. • It is a city where tourism is fully integrated into its economic, retail, social and cultural dynamic and where the community recognizes all kinds of visitors as other (temporary) citizens. The hospitable character of the locals makes it a friendly, different city that people are fond of. • A metropolitan city which is distinguished by its environmental sustainability, its excellent service, its continuous ability to surprise and its groundbreaking initiatives. Culture, creativity and knowledge are the engines of the city and its territory. • The real city, its identity and dynamism form the basis of its appeal and there is no room for “ghettos” or neighborhoods that cater exclusively to tourists. • Tourist activity continues to contribute to Barcelona’s success by fostering the improvement of the quality of life and social cohesion of its community, to the upkeep and creation of new amenities, and to the success of other economic sectors and the dissemination of Barcelona around the world”.
A. Desired tourism model The three core principles that define the tourism model 1- Coherence with the city model 2- The balance or synergic relationship between visitors and residents 3- Economic, social, environmental and heritage sustainability B. Main challenges to be faced
The city facing ten major challenges which could be taken into consideration in order to move towards the established tourism model and the proposed vision. The challenges were understood as the axes or vectors that will bring about an improvement in tourism in Barcelona that must be taken on board by the broadest possible range of agents involved, also will involve agreements, commitments, and shared actions. - Territorial de-concentration of tourist activity
112 (http://www.turisme2015bcn.cat/files/7931‐74‐arxiuCAT/STRATEGIC%20PLAN%20EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY.%20FEBRER%202010.pdf) 86 1- From Barcelona to destination Barcelona 2- From the traditional icons to new icons 3- From the icons to the neighborhood De-concentration seeks to expand the framework for action, to foster a more equitable distribution of the economic and social effects caused by tourism, as well as a territorial re-equilibrium, releasing the pressure on some zones of the city. - Governance of tourism within the framework of the city and its territorial environment 4- From tourist to visitor 5- From tourism promotion to a governance of tourist activity 6- From data to the generation of shared knowledge The social and economic transformations that have occurred involve changes, adaptations and reformations in the way cities are considered and governed. Therefore, the plan needed to move towards the development of new structures of management and coordination of tourist activity and their relationship with the city and different territories, bearing in mind the current and desired roles of the different institutions, governments and sectors involved. - Generation of complicities with society and institutions 7- From indifference to the involvement of the community 8- From competition to complicity with Catalonia The involvement of the community is necessary for the economic and social sustainability of the activity, and complicities with Catalonia and its institutions are something that has to be improved for their mutual benefit. Also, to consider the residents of Barcelona, such as fostering hospitality, this extends a warm welcome to visitors. - Competitive improvements to the destination and activities associated with tourism 9- From “accelerated” growth in recent years to the consolidation of sustainable growth “post crisis” 10- From the tourist city to leadership in tourism and the city As there is no long term success without sustainability and there is no sustainability without the ability to be competitive. In recent years Barcelona tourism boom had proved the strength of the product, the wealth of business and the competitiveness of the destination until today. The rarefication of the current economic and financial environment, as well as the strong competition between destinations, makes it necessary to consider a sustainable evolution over time, while consolidating the merits achieved. Despite having the conditions and aptitudes to achieve a leading position in urban tourism over time, Barcelona must work towards the continuous improvements in the competitiveness of the destination and the different sectors involved.
Not also the websites for the main case studies, as if we take a look on some other websites globally like Paris, Berlin, Budapest, New York, Beijing, and Casablanca some short significant conclusions were found as following.
Paris (http://www.parisinfo.com/) • The website is in many languages (German, English, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French and more) • The sustainable tourism sector is really interesting – a sustainable tourism destination
87 • Also a sector for gays – where they meet (restaurant, bars, cafes) • Sector for families and with the kids, camping sites
Berlin (http://www.berlin.de/ & http://www.berlin.de/tourismus/ & http://visitberlin.de/de) • The website is in 8 different languages (Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish and Japanese) • The creative metropolis sector
Budapest (http://www.budapest.com/ & http://www.hungary.com/budapest) • Spas and Hammams in Budapest, dinning out and night life • Food and wines, fishing and hunting • Balaton Lake, Family fun, fun for the young and outdoors • Gay Budapest and case of emergency • Beauty salons, plastic surgeries, dental and eye clinics
New York (http://www.nycgo.com/ & http://www.iloveny.com/) • Neighborhoods highlight, must see New York City (NYC), night life • Reasons to love New York
Beijing (http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/) • Thematic tourism and recreation parks and water falls
Casablanca (http://www.visitcasablanca.ma/) • The website is in 3 languages (English, Arabic and French) while the English is not totally dominant • The e-catalogue is really interesting and also e-cards but only in French • Spas and relaxation
Turism de Barcelona Consortium The “Turism de Barcelona Consortium” which was established in the context of the Olympic Games of 1992, in favor to promote and market the international image of Barcelona as a result of an agreement between the public and private sectors of the city, whose implementation worked to continue the push led by the Olympic Games, promoting the comprehensive hotel facilities of services and new infrastructure of the city were profitable and improved over time.
Turisme de Barcelona was created due to an agreement and close relationship of complicity and support among the City Council and Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona , taking advantage of the occasion of the Games of the 92 established the basis and operational organization for the growth of tourism in Barcelona. Since then, Turisme de Barcelona has developed and finalized several programs and actions to promote tourism in the city, making Barcelona the European municipality, proportionally, have grown over the tourism sector. Today, the city of Barcelona is among the main international urban tourism destinations.
88 • Prizes
Alexandria Barcelona
Alexandria won the Peace City Prize from the UNESCO in Barcelona is the only city in the world with nine 2009. buildings which are UNESCO World Heritage:
Alexandria won the Greening & Beautification of Cities Barcelona is the world’s third most popular congress Prize from the Arab Towns Organization, 7th session (year city, according to the International Congress & 2000-2003). Convention Association (ICCA), and is the sixth city in the world for convention tourism, according to the Union of International Associations (UIA).
Alexandria won the Preserve the Architectural Heritage Barcelona with 2,000,000 passengers is port of call in Prize from the Arab Towns Organization, 8th session (year Europe for cruise-liners and fourth in the world. 2003-2006).
Alexandria was chosen to win the Preservation of the According to The Daily Telegraph, Barcelona is the Environment from the World Association of the Major world’s top urban tourism destination of 2003. Metropolises in Berlin 2005.
Habitat Prize for Integrated Management of Solid Waste Barcelona was named top short-break destination by the from the United Nations 2006 2006 and 2007 British Travel Awards.
Alexandria won the Environmental Health & Safety Top Spanish city 2004, according to the readers of El Award from the Arab Towns Organization, 9th session País El Viajero. (year 2006-2009).
Revival of Ancient Greek Ideals Award by the Athens Barcelona is the Spanish city where tourists from University in 2007. abroad carry out the most credit card transactions (22% of the total).
The Capital of Islamic Culture in the Arab Region in 2008 and then the Capital of Arab Tourism in 2010 from the League of Arab States.
Prizes that Alexandria and Barcelona have.
89 Survey questionnaires
• Providing foreign currency to the city & country Positive effects of tourism in • Providing job opportunities and better living environment Alexandria • Give an image of the city as a historical city and the pride of the Mediterranean Sea. • Increase its value as an urban city with a mixture of cultural and urban heritage through the different ages. • Developing and promoting monumental sites and preserving them • Cleanness of the city’s streets and working to keep the city clean • Increase local and national incomes • Crowding the city in sometimes of the year specially summer and traffic jams Negative effects of tourism in • Habits of tourists which sometimes are against our habits Alexandria • Tourists mainly target the beaches • Increase some products prices in tourism high season • Over all tourism uplifts the quality of life for the residence and provides opportunities for cultural Further exchange comments • Taking care of the public squares and plazas • Urban planning of the city has to target equally the different sectors for national and international tourism as well as for public and local planning in order to solve better the problem equations • The local authorities have to provide some plans for the Alexandria’s local residents for example in the summer, where they are facing each year from problems of crowding of public spaces and facilities in the city (especially the summer seasons). • Some development plans for example; by trying to facilitate the inner-city movement of the tourism cutting the daily life network of its residents.
The results of the survey questionnaires done about the positive and negative effects of tourism in Alexandria
Tourism problems / issues Answers
Leads to increased noise 86 % answered that concerning noise they do not see it as either negative or positive impact and that’s maybe due to the normal noise that already exists so tourism does not seem to increase this by a way or another
Increases the recreational and 100% see it as an opportunity to increase recreational and leisure spaces leisure opportunities for residents
Leads to crowding of public The answers varied from being with or against the idea which means that there is spaces and facilities no clear opinion about this issue
Attracts investment 100% agreed that tourism attracts more investments and development to the city
90 Adds vitality 100% agreed upon this too, that tourism make the city more vital and alive
Encourages sexual behavior Most of the answers were neutral maybe because tourists respect being in an and excessive drinking or eastern country with different traditions and culture, but concerning drinking and drugs drugs it seems that citizens are aware of this specially because alcohols and drugs are against religion and traditions in the Egyptian community
Increases the range and All the answers confirmed that tourism increases the services and shops which quality of shops and services maybe a threat to change the economic distribution from an agriculture and for residents industrial based community to service community
Provides opportunities to The people are aware that tourism does increases opportunities to meet new meet new people from abroad people from abroad and exchange ideas and principles of different cultures and traditions
Creates business 86% agreed that tourism creates business opportunities to the residents opportunities for residents
Tourism development 100% agreed that tourism provides the necessary incentives for conserving provides incentives for historic and cultural sites, which is totally true because in a developing country conserving historic buildings because of the increasing demand from tourists on cultural visits, tourism will and other cultural sites guarantee the return of money spent on cultural and historical sites
Increases litter The answers were pretty neutral concerning litter
Improves the quality of public All answers agreed upon that tourism improves the quality of public spaces space because it is a front and indicator for visitors to review the city
Encourages higher standards The majority pretty agreed upon that tourism encourage higher standard of local on local planning planning while the other stayed neutral about it
Leads to conflict over land Most of the answers agreed that tourism generates conflicts over land use zoning use zoning which sometimes give up community services for tourism services sake
The results of the survey questionnaires done about the problems and challenges facing tourism in Alexandria
91 Alexandria Geographical
• Proximity to Europe and Arab countries • Strategic location on the Mediterranean • The long lasting summer that begins in April and lasts till October and at the same time a very mild Strengths winter • Long coastline • Special cuisine of seafood which grow only in this area of the Mediterranean sea • Proximity to Cairo (220 km, 3 hrs.) • Sometimes very hot weather because of very warm wind blowing from the western desert Weaknesses • The conflict zone in the middle east (Arab-Israeli conflict)
Opportunities • Connection between 3 different continents Africa, Asia and Europe
• Degradation of the natural environment Threats • Change of the coastline due to waves of erosion and sedimentation Alexandria Human resources
• Availability of labor forces Strengths • Above average pre-university education enrollment ratio (78%) • Diverse attraction factors which creates job opportunities all over the year • Poor labor forces skills Weaknesses • High unemployment rate • Opportunity to increase people awareness about the importance of tourism on local & national level Opportunities in order to increase the Alexandrians income • Low income per capita Threats • Distortion of the residential identity • Rapid population growth Alexandria Urban tourism
• The commercial & financial activities • The city witnessed three different religious communities (Judaic, Christian, Muslim) which richen its culture and heritage • A very old city with different urban structures in different eras. • Alexandria Bibliotheca with 3 million visitors a year. Strengths • Completion of the library nearby neighborhood redevelopment • Variety of cultural centers • Culture & heritage assets • Increasing the good mental image about Egypt • Vibrant & active variety of NGOs
92 • Concentration of many travel agencies, councils & travelling facilities • Existence of Mediterranean sea, Marriout Lake, Mahmoudia Canal, Safari & cultural tourism encourage the diversity of tourism activities all over the year • Friendly behavior and hospitality of inhabitants towards tourists • Variety of hotels and hostels at reasonable prices • Cheap railways which make mobility from and to Alexandria easier • Experiencing a different kind of night life on the cafes spreading all over the beaches at night • Iconic surf beaches and skyline • Increasing importance of new technologies in tourism as informational tourism systems, electronic data bases • Loss of cultural focal point at international level • Few cultural events of international prominence • Weak promoting & marketing abilities • Bad connection between different leisure locations • Poor potentials to receive tourists • Unattractive leisure activities compared to Cairo & Luxor • No clear tourism strategy • Limited possibilities for family tourism • Shortage of international level leisure means as Yacht Club Weaknesses • Concentration on leisure tourism more than culture & medical tourism • Absence of Alexandria from the international tourism map • Plenty of green spaces • No low cost flights from Europe to Alexandria, low cost flights are oriented to other destinations (Sharm Elsheikh, Hurghada) • Litter increased by increasing tourism • Lack of coordination between the people / Local Authorities / Tourism groups / Tourism providers • Info points are not enough and in hidden places not easy to be found (only 3, 1 in the airport and 2 in city) • Revitalization of the city center, new cultural life around the new Alexandria Bibliotheca, library of the Mediterranean world with a capacity of about 5 million volumes • Expansion of the port with modernization & improvement of the urban & extra-urban transport services Suburban underground to the west Opportunities • Start of an archaeological excavation campaign • Alexandria has been named capital of Arab tourism for 2010 • Underwater museum of archeological discoveries under PPP arrangements • Increasing number of tourists visiting Egypt every year • Improved increased tourism movement worldwide & to Egypt
93 • Strong opportunities for growth in tourism sector • Opportunity to connect tourism in Alexandria with the international road in north Africa • Alexandria library as an international headstone & local & international meetings & conferences • Hotel occupancy is around 50% only, as an opportunity to accommodate more tourists • Demand between the national and international tourists can be easily managed due to difference in the period of holidays. • Unique experience in the city • Thematic tourism development possibilities • Promoting the nutrition and gastronomy as a new “tourist product” • The opportunities of the city as a Historical Greek, Turkish-Islamic centre, the wonderful beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, the good weather all over the year. • The economic benefits from tourism generate more opportunities for tourism development • The negative environment of the coast, of the ground, water & air • The overdevelopment of tourism specially in the west coast of Alexandria • Increased competition between different tourist destinations • Lack of a comprehensive tourism plan & miscommunication on the national & international level specially with the neighboring countries • Tourism is a seasonal activity which affects other economic sectors • Increase of illegal activities related to tourism • Recession of formal touristic activities • Bad behavior of tourists sometimes which is against religious traditions in an Islamic country Threats • Guest houses replace the hotels, thus diverting the hotel traffic. • No high speed trains • Changing needs and trends of tourists • Poor quality of tourist marketing • Absence of a disaster and crisis management plan for tourism • Lack of innovative and world-class tourist product • Cheap living costs compared to other destinations • The changes made in beach forms and lines in Alexandria may affect changing the climate and lead to environmental problems. Alexandria Urban development, utilities, services & infrastructure
• Public-private investment projects to upgrade the city • Urban renewal projects • Land availability around Lake Marriout & in South Alexandria Strengths • Good public-private sector coordination & cooperation • Two international airports • Existing cultural and heritage buildings to promote urban tourism
94 • Diversity of public and private transportation in Alexandria • Pedestrian tunnels exist all over the Geish Road (Cornish) • New urban processes of unregulated construction and real-estate speculation • Heavy buildings taking over the European 18th & 19th century center • Overdevelopment along the coast of Alexandria in parallel with urban sprawl & damage to the landscape as well as environmental pollution • Informal settlements & slums • Weak infrastructure & public transportation • Large informal sector participation (urban areas 19%, rural areas 57%) Weaknesses • Conflicting zoning instructions from different departments • Growing illegal housing construction activity • Ageing & badly maintained passenger trains • Irregularity of air transportations system • Weak cluster behavior of transport cluster • Water pollution which affects the tourism investments circumstances • No biking service • No clear road hierarchy and structure except for the Geish road which is parallel to the city’s coast • Development of the East Port, an avant-grade project for the waterfront with its value in terms of territorial & cultural development, economic & productive • The restoration & expansion of ElDekehila port • The development of the railway networks for greater ease of access & traffic flow Opportunities • Planning of the high speed Cairo-Alexandria train • The new airport in Borg ElArab, 43 km from Alexandria • Development opportunities in Lake Marriout area • Opportunity to achieve sustainable tourism development • The negative environment of the coast, of the ground, water & air • The development of large business centers, shopping malls & leisure facilities in the outskirt to east & south • Long term projects take long time which may affect different fields specially projects in strategic Threats locations • Low quality of public infrastructure and services • Further development threaten the agriculture lands surrounding the city from the east and south directions Alexandria Social capital
Strengths • The middle class represents the majority of population
Weaknesses • Extreme contrast between social classes
95 • Insufficient consumer protection measures
Opportunities • Large remittances from Egyptians working abroad
• Crime and safety problems Threats • The shrinking of the middle class, and increasing the gap between rich and poor Alexandria Economic development
Strengths • The GDP of Egypt increased in the last decades
Weaknesses • The change from an industrial and agriculture based economy to service economy
• Stabilizing foreign exchange rates Opportunities • Strong opportunities for investment as a result of liberalization of sectors • Opportunities to support other economic activities from tourism • Globalization Threats • Economic benefits to take over social and environmental capitals • Wealth accumulation Alexandria Government and official issues
Strengths • The 3nd capital of Egypt after Cairo and Giza governorates
• Lack of economic data & statistics • Lack of common definitions for sectors & size of enterprises • Lack of coordination in data collection on the local level & between governorate & central government Weaknesses • Insufficient public information on regulations & procedures affecting the business environment • No linkages between formal & information sector due to taxation issues • No automation • No election system is followed because all positions are fulfilled by official appointments
Opportunities • Concentration of business headquarters and official capitals in the city
• The administration is more interested in the seafront • Unstable political situation in the region • Heavy red tape & bureaucracy Threats • Conflicting regulations & procedures • Significant problems in dispute settlements arising from weak courts & implementation of the law • Very high financial interest rates reaching 16% in some cases • Lack of institutional framework for the control of the land uses Alexandria Environmental capital
• The government is applying many environmental precautions on new development projects Strengths (Environmental Impact Assessment policies and Environmental Impact Statements)
96 • The ministry of Environment and environment preservation laws
• Random development on the coastal zone to increase economic capital Weaknesses • Water pollution due to the increased number of ships • Increasing awareness about environment preservation • Environmental programs with European countries to exchange experiences • To activate the environmental laws Opportunities • Recycling garbage and produce energy • Renewable energy resources (sun, sea and wind) • Tourism opportunities • Bad management of environment on the local levels • Garbage accumulation and its influence on human health Threats • Water needs • Need for green spaces and parks
The complete SWOT Analysis of Alexandria
97 Barcelona Geographical
• Bordering city increases cross-border cooperation between French and Spanish cities • Access to the sea and nice weather almost most of the year time, & well connected to Madrid • Close to Pyrenees mountains Strengths • Mar Cities (Mediterraneano Poles Industriales) • Strong regional identity of Catalonia • The mountain range of Collserola with beautiful views to the Mediterranean sea • Difficult connection with north of Europe Weaknesses • Imbalance in the occupation of the territory • Imbalance between Barcelona & rest of the region • The relationship with the Mediterranean countries & continental Europe Opportunities • Commercial & tourism opportunities
Threats • Increasing decentralization which threat the separation of the region
Barcelona Human resources
• High positive net migration • High density in Catalonia 209 inhabitant/km2 above Spain average 80 inhabitant/km2) • Diversified job opportunities Strengths • High employment rate (70% of active population) • Industry based employment • Dynamic employment rate • High migration • High density Weaknesses • Lack of productivity in service sector • Depending on construction & manufactory sectors Opportunities • Depending on the increase of the population, the creation of wealth
• Immigrants integration in community Threats • Globalization Barcelona Urban tourism
• Green areas and parks • Increasing number of tourists specially after the city has recovered from the 2008 crisis • Architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been Strengths designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites • Barcelona is Europe's 3rd and one of the world's most successful as a city brand, both in terms of reputation and assets • Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and 4th most visited in Europe
98 • Diverse tourist products (guided tours, Barcelona card, audio guide Gaudi’s Barcelona … etc.) • Segmented promotion of the city (Culture, meetings tourism, shopping, gastronomy, premium, sports .. etc.) • Promotion by geographical and economic markets (Traditional markets as United Kingdom, Italy, United States, France and Germany…), Emerging markets (China, India, Brasil, Russia), and Others (Middle East, Southeast Asia …) • Promoting exclusive and unique experiences, and very personalized trips • Many info points in strategic places • In summer 2000, the city became a host for the prestigious Bread & Butter urban fashion fair until 2009 when it was announced that it would be held again on Berlin • The Brandery, an urban fashion show, is held in Barcelona twice a year • Diversity and attractive value and potential of urban tourism and cruise tourism • Good image of the city • Positive experience in public management of tourism • There is no 24 hour info point they close at 18:00 • Negative behavior of tourists which sometimes annoys the inhabitants of Barcelona • Excessive emphasis and obsession with growth Weaknesses • Growth of the negative perception of tourism among the population of the city. • Difficult to manage (in the public and private) the "destination Barcelona" (beyond the municipality Barcelona) • Increased tourism opportunities • Stable position that Barcelona achieved between different touristic destinations Opportunities • Capturing emerging markets (as Eastern Europe) • Capturing market nearby markets and • Need for water & space for sector expansion • Tourism is in a stagnation level in the tourist area lifecycle • Negative effects of the economic crisis on demand Threats • Home of the negative perception of Barcelona (security problems, dissatisfaction with overcrowding, etc.) • The passage of fashion: in recent years Barcelona has been "fashionable" and is difficult to maintain this status. Barcelona Urban development, utilities, services & infrastructure
• Barcelona will boast an extensive motorway network and is a hub of high-speed rail, particularly that which will link France with Spain. Strengths • Barcelona is the 16th most "livable city" in the world according to lifestyle magazine Monocle • Barcelona is served by a comprehensive local public transport network that includes a metro, a bus network, two separate modern tram networks, a separate historic tram line, and several
99 funiculars and aerial cable cars. • In 2007 Barcelona's City Council started the Biking service, a bicycle service understood as a public transport. • High speed linking Madrid with Barcelona • Two partially covered highways bypass the city and the diagonal which crosses the city diagonally • The Olympic Games Plan discovered all the city’s assets and characteristics • The mountain range of Collserola may limit further development expansions of the city Weaknesses • Pollution produced from the port (air, land and water)
Opportunities • The successful strategic planning gives the city opportunities for success and rejuvenation
• Unplanned & unsustainable development & activities Threats • Water Pollution which may affect beach tourism in the city Barcelona Social capital
• Only 7.1% unemployment rate before 2008 crisis Strengths • Awareness of inhabitants towards the economic effects of tourism • Low qualified employment Weaknesses • Temporal employment
Opportunities • Redistribution of the employment in the manufacture sector to other economic sectors
• Increasing the gap between rich and poor Threats • Increase of labor force working under service sectors Barcelona Economic development
• High level of wealth creation • Economic structure depends mainly on industry & services • Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, economic and cultural-sports centers Strengths • It is the 4th richest city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world • Leading industries in textiles, chemical, pharmaceutical, motor, electronic, printing, logistics, publishing, telecommunications and information technology services • World Trade Center Barcelona, which is located in Barcelona's harbor Port Vell. • Decreased productivity Weaknesses • Low culture of inversion in innovation • The manufacturing sector had overtaken by the services sector • Increase in tourism sector Opportunities • Main services are construction, chemicals & textile • Openness to foreign investments • Destruction of the rest of the enterprises Threats • Globalization
100 • Wealth accumulation Barcelona Government and official issues
• The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. • The Barcelona is governed by a city council which is elected for a 4 year-term by universal suffrage • The 2nd biggest city in Spain Strengths • According to the Carta Municipal, it expands the powers of the city council in areas like telecommunications, city traffic, road safety and public safety. And also it gives the council a veto in matters that will be decided by the central government, but that will need a favorable report from the council. Barcelona Environmental capital
• Forestry resources 61% of the Catalan territory Strengths • Awareness of community concerning the environment problems • Plenty of green spaces and parks • Limitations of water resources which distributed irregularly Weaknesses • Limited source of energy • Clean politics Opportunities • Alternative energy resources • Tourism opportunities
Threats • Need for water
The complete SWOT Analysis of Barcelona
Organization Chart of the Tourism and Domestic Trade Secretary in Spain 113
113 http://www.mityc.es/turismo/en‐US/SecretariaDeEstado/Organigrama/Paginas/Organigrama.aspx 101 Interviews The interview questions were around 15 questions more or less for both cities with some differences concerning location wise and the reality that, Barcelona has a developed rank between international destinations and Alexandria is still in the exploring stage to impose its position as an international destination, hereby the summary of both cities’ interviews. 4- Ayat Ismail as a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Science, department of Geography, VUB (Vrjie Universitat Brussels) While this interview confirmed some main ideas represented in the following: - The biggest target groups are mainly from Egyptians - The high season is in summer and winter specifically in winter vacations - The definition of urban tourism from her point of view is: “for me as a planner the term urban is automatically connected with other aspects, political, economical, social, regional, local....etc. therefore, urban tourism appears to me as a process of interaction of the visitors of a city with its residents, how they use its services and amenities, and how the city can meet their expectation and provide the suitable activities for them” - Some negative impacts of tourism, environmental problems, more litter and cabbage, more crowd and traffic due to more the increased number of tourists in high seasons which causes air, land and water pollution. While some development projects especially on the Cornish do not solve the problem but make it worse and install more pressure on the existing infrastructure, which is already needs to be improved, those kind of projects only aim to profit regardless improving the city’s main potentials and assets. - Meanwhile, tourism in Alexandria is cheap talking about transportation, food, shopping, culture and urban experiences all make Alexandria an attraction for international tourism but from Ayat’s point of view she claimed that: “Attracting more international tourism is way beyond the capacity of the city…. Nowadays Alexandria has international tourism, you can see them at the citadel of Qaitbay, the Alexandria Bibliotheca and Roman theater, but not on the beaches because beaches are mostly for locals (national tourism) and I think Alexandria could not be as an international destination as tourists may better choose other destination in Egypt like Sharm Elsheikh or Hurghada to enjoy the beach” But here Ayat only focused on beach tourism because it was clear during the interview that the term “urban tourism” was too wide while she elaborated more on her personal background and experiences.
102 Survey questionnaires
Survey will be divided into 3 sections as following and will be handled to inhabitants in both cities (Alexandria and Barcelona) to know the tourism impacts from tourists, experts and academics in both cities: Section 1 (general information) ¾ What is your name: …………………………………… Age: ...... ¾ Sex: Male Female ¾ Where do you live? And which neighbourhood? Alexandria (Montazah, East, Middle, Gomrok, West, Amreya, Borg ElArab) Barcelona (Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Sants‐Montjuic, Les Corts, Sarria‐Sant Gervai, Gracia, Horta‐ Guinardo, Nou Barris, Sant Andreu, Sant Marti) ¾ How long did you live there? Less than 12 months 1 to 5 years 5 to 10 years More than 10 years ¾ Do you work in tourism or a tourism related industry Yes (what exactly please indicate) No (please indicate your current job) ¾ Which of the following best describes your current lifestyle situation? Single living alone Single living with family Single living with others Couple living alone (with children or not please indicate) Couple living with others (with children or not please indicate) Couple children left home One parent family with children at home Other ¾ Do you rent or own your current residence Rent Own part own ¾ From your experience, what are the best effects that occurred from tourism in your city? ¾ From your experience, what are the worst effects that occurred from tourism in your city?
103 Section 2 (Questionnaire) This section seeks your opinions on how you feel tourism affects your area. Please read each of the brief questions on the following pages and indicate, in your opinion, if these apply in your city and how you feel about these effects. Each statement asks for your opinion,d an as such, it is important to note that there is no right or wrong answers. The effect section uses a scale, where ‐2 means the effect being discussed is very negative, 0 is neutral, and +2 is very positive. If you don’t know whether a particular impact occurred, circle “don’t know” and skip the “How do you feel about this?” part of that question.
Questions : How do you feel about this? Tourism effect Answers Very negative Neutral Very positive
Yes ‐2 ‐1 o +1 +2 No Don’t know a) Do you think tourism leads to increased noise in your area? b) Do you think tourism increases the recreational and leisure opportunities for residents in your city? c) Do you think tourism increases the pride of residents in your city? d) Do you think tourism encourages excessive drinking and/or drug use in your city? e) Do you think tourism enhances residents’ sense of community in your city? f) Do you think tourism leads to crowding of public spaces and facilities in your city? g) Do you think tourism attracts investment to your city? h) Do you think tourism increases rowdy and/or anti‐social behaviour in your city? i) Do you think tourism adds vitality to your city? j) Do you think tourism encourages sexual behaviour that offends you? k) Do you think tourism increases the range of shops and services for residents in your city? l) Do you think tourism increases the quality of shops and services for residents in your city?
104 m) Do you think tourism makes the city less safe for residents? n) Do you think tourism provides opportunities to meet new people from abroad? o) Do you think tourism encourages prostitution in your city? p) Do you think tourism generates increased spending in your city? q) Do you think tourism increases the cost of real estate for residents in your city? r) Do you think tourism creates business opportunities for residents in your city? s) Do you think tourism increases the cost of goods and services for residents in your city? t) Do you think tourism increases employment opportunities for residents in your city? u) Do you think tourism diverts money away from essential community projects in your city? v) Do you think tourism development provides incentives for conserving historic buildings and other cultural sites in your city? w) Do you think tourism increases litter in your city? x) Do you think tourism provides incentives for conserving the natural environment in your city? y) Do you think tourism improves the quality of public spaces in your city? z) Do you think tourism encourages higher standards on local planning in your city? zz) Do you think tourism leads to conflict over land use zoning in your city?
Section 3 Do you have any further comments or ideas that you like to share with us about tourism and its impacts in your city and on local community? . . Thank you for participating in the survey – which is greatly appreciated
105